Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa has signed into law legislation that allows physician assistants to practice independent of a supervising physician.
Iowa is now one of six states to repeal this requirement, joining Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, according to a May 11 news release from American Academy of Physician Associates shared with Becker's.
"This bill moves Iowa away from old and burdensome regulations toward a modernized and flexible approach to healthcare that will benefit PAs, their employers and the patients they serve," Samantha Sparrow, president of the Iowa Physician Assistant Society, said in the release.
The legislation is expected to especially improve care access for patients in rural communities. In Iowa, there are over 1,300 licensed PAs practicing medicine — 53.4 percent of whom practice in rural areas of the state.