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California has made pharmacists into physicians. The legislature passed and the governor signed a bill giving pharmacists the ability to give drugs and routine vaccinations as well as order and interpret tests to monitor drug therapies. Advanced pharmacists may also do patient assessments. This is thanks to Obamacare and the lack or perceived lack of physicians to take care of the new patients. This starts January 1. The CMA is neutral on this law.
California continues to destroy medicine by allowing non-physicians to perform abortions. Nurse practitioners can now perform abortions in the state without medical supervision. The NPs, PAs, and CNMs can perform vacuum aspiration abortions if they get training and follow protocols. The CMA backed this bill.
California also has two law which help in the fight against narcotic abuse. The first is to open a prospective database on information on the prescriber and the patient that physicians can check prior to prescribing narcotics. The second is to allow the medical board to sanction physicians who refuse to turn over deceased patient's medical records or avoid interviews. A third bill requiring coroners to turn over information to the state on drug deaths due to prescription drugs was vetoed by the gov. Top
CMS has stopped sending money to Maine's Riverview Psychiatric Center costing them about $20 million. The state run hospital is overcrowded and understaffed. It is also allowing tasers to be used on violent patients. This is a direct slap at the Maine legislature and their state Dept. of Health. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this
article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the
time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers
should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the
information presented.