Bid To Loosen Rules On Mid-Level Providers Prompts Legislative Debate

A Georgia Senate study committee is recommending changes in the state’s strict rules governing advanced practice nurses and physician assistants.

But the panel reached a split vote Tuesday on two issues: authority to prescribe narcotics and authority to order imaging tests. It’s a sign that, as in past years, getting such changes through the entire General Assembly may prove difficult.

The study committee’s work comes as Georgia faces major gaps in the number of medical providers serving rural areas of the state.