§453-5.3  Physician assistant; licensurerequired.  (a)  The Hawaii medical board shall require each personpracticing medicine under the supervision of a physician or osteopathicphysician, other than a person licensed under section 453-3, to be licensed asa physician assistant.  A person who is trained to do only a very limitednumber of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures under the direction of aphysician or osteopathic physician shall not be deemed a practitioner ofmedicine or osteopathy and therefore does not require licensure under thissection.

(b)  The board shall establish medicaleducational and training standards with which a person applying for licensureas a physician assistant shall comply.  The standards shall be at least equalto recognized national education and training standards for physicianassistants.

(c)  Upon satisfactory proof of compliance withthe required medical educational and training standards, the board may grantstate licensure to a person who has been granted certification based uponpassage of a national certifying examination and who holds a currentcertificate from the national certifying entity approved by the board.

(d)  The board shall approve temporarylicensure of an applicant under this section. The applicant shall havegraduated from a board approved training program within twelve months of thedate of application and never taken a national certifying examination approvedby the board but otherwise meets the requirements of this section.  Theapplicant shall file a complete application with the board and pay all requiredfees.  If the applicant fails to apply for, or to take, the first examinationscheduled by the board following the issuance of the temporary license, failsto pass the examination, or fails to receive licensure, all privileges underthis section shall automatically cease upon written notification sent to theapplicant by the board.  A temporary license shall be issued only once to eachperson.

(e)  Prior to practicing under temporarylicensure, holders of temporary licenses shall notify the board in writing ofany and all supervising physicians or osteopathic physicians under whom theywill be performing services.

(f)  The board shall establish the degree ofsupervision required by the supervising physician or osteopathic physician whena physician assistant performs a service within the practice of medicine.  Aphysician or osteopathic physician who does not supervise a physicianassistant's services at the degree required by the board shall be deemed tohave engaged in professional misconduct.

(g)  Any license of a physician assistant maybe denied, not renewed, revoked, limited, or suspended under section 453-8.

(h)  The board shall establish the applicationprocedure, medical educational and training standards, examination requirement,if any, and degrees of supervision by rule.

(i)  Every person holding a license under thissection shall apply for renewal with the board no later than January 31 of eacheven-numbered year and pay a renewal fee.  Failure to apply for renewal shallconstitute a forfeiture of the license that may only be restored upon writtenapplication for restoration and payment to the board of a restoration fee.

(j)  A license that has been forfeited for onerenewal term shall be automatically terminated and cannot be restored.  A newapplication for licensure shall be required. [L 1984, c 168, pt of §1; am L1986, c 144, §1; am L 1988, c 110, §4; am L 1989, c 181, §2; am L 1991, c 52,§1; am L 1999, c 90, §3; am L 2008, c 5, §8 and c 9, §3]