Physician Assistants meet with lawmakers, advocate for efficiency and rural care

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — February 18th is recognized as “Physician Assistants Day” at the State House — honoring the efforts of over 3,500 PAs across South Carolina.

Around 100 physician assistants and student PAs met at the State House on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to remove barriers to their practice.

Led by the SC Academy of PAs, they say around 90 % of South Carolinians live in a healthcare provider shortage area. A new bill (SB 44 and its counterpart HB 3579) hopes to remove some of the red tape faced they face on a day-to-day basis, and make care in rural areas more accessible.

Annette Cruz, President of the SC Academy of PAs, says should the bill pass, it would improve the process of hiring PAs — specifically during disaster relief situations — and help streamline state laws that mandate the job’s licensure and scope.

“So I think one of the biggest struggles is having to report to the state level slows down the time we are able to practice. So something as simple as switching roles between two healthcare systems, you can delay start times and care. Delaying options of when you want to help in disaster relief efforts. COVID was a big eye opener for a lot of access to healthcare. There was a lot of red tape to go through to be able to allow PA’s to transition into other practices and give the opportunity of healthcare to those South Carolinians,” says Cruz.

Physician Assistant Annette Rauch says PAs do much more than take vital signs — they evaluate, diagnose, and recommend treatment for patients — skills that she believes can be more greatly utilized to help rural communities in SC who often struggle with transportation needs.

“Last time I checked I think it’s 19 counties that are in shortage of healthcare providers, and we have plenty of access with our physician assistant title and our knowledge base to be able to help bridge that gap and do local community care in those counties,” says Rauch.

Devonte Thomas, a physician assistant student at USC School of Medicine, says its important to meet with lawmakers and advocate for their patients both inside and outside of the clinic.

“You realize that they’re real people, right? They’re not just people on tv that you see and are just voting on things. It’s nice to shake hands and actually have a conversation with these individuals because they want to actually want to listen and learn to what you have to say about your profession,” says Thomas.

The bill has until the last day of session on May 14th to become law.