Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §3270-A, first ¶, as amended by PL 1993, c. 600, Pt. A, §205, is further amended to read:

Nothing contained in this This chapter may not be construed to prohibit an individual from rendering medical services, if these services are rendered under the supervision and control of a physician or surgeon, and if that individual has satisfactorily completed a training program approved by the Board of Licensure in Medicine and a competency examination determined by this board. Supervision and control may not be construed as requiring the personal presence of the supervising and controlling physician at the place where these services are rendered, unless a physical presence is necessary to provide patient care of the same quality as provided by the physician. Nothing in this This chapter may not be construed as prohibiting a physician or surgeon from delegating to the physician's or surgeon's employees certain activities relating to medical care and treatment carried out by custom and usage when the activities are under the direct control of and in the personal presence of the physician or surgeon who must be present on the premises at the time the activities are performed. The physician delegating these activities to employees, to program graduates or to participants in an approved training program is legally liable for the activities of those individuals, and any individual in this relationship is considered the physician's agent. Nothing contained in this This section may not be construed to apply to registered nurses acting pursuant to chapter 31.

SUMMARY

Current law allows an assistant to a physician or a surgeon to perform certain activities only when the physician or surgeon has direct control over the assistant and is in the same room with the assistant while the procedure is being performed.

This bill continues to require that an assistant to a physician or a surgeon may only perform certain activities when the assistant is under the control of the physician or surgeon, but allows the assistant to perform those activities outside of the direct presence of the physician or surgeon, instead requiring only that the physician or surgeon be present on the premises.