GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2011
H 1
HOUSE BILL 331
Short Title: Allow PAs and NPs to Sign Death Cert. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Hollo, Brubaker, Dollar, and Justice (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, see Bill Information on the NCGA Web Site. |
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Referred to: |
Judiciary Subcommittee A. |
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March 14, 2011
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize physician assistants and nurse practitioners to complete medical certifications as to the cause of death for death registration.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 90-18.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(f) Any medical certification completed by a physician assistant for a death certificate shall be deemed to have been authorized by the physician approved by the Board as the supervisor of the physician assistant, and the supervising physician shall be responsible for authorizing the completion of the medical certification."
SECTION 2. G.S. 90-18.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e1) Any medical certification completed by a nurse practitioner for a death certificate shall be deemed to have been authorized by the physician approved by the boards as the supervisor of the nurse practitioner, and the supervising physician shall be responsible for authorizing the completion of the medical certification."
SECTION 3. G.S. 130A-115(c) and (d) read as rewritten:
"(c) The medical
certification shall be completed and signed by the physician in charge of the
patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except
when the death falls within the circumstances described in G.S. 130A-383.
In the absence of the physician or with the physician's approval, the
certificate may be completed and signed by an associate physician, a
physician assistant in a manner consistent with G.S. 90-18.1(f), a nurse
practitioner in a manner consistent with G.S. 90-18.2(e1), the chief
medical officer of the hospital or facility in which the death occurred or a physician
who performed an autopsy upon the decedent under the following circumstances:
the individual has access to the medical history of the deceased; the
individual has viewed the deceased at or after death; and the death is due to
natural causes. When specifically approved by the State Registrar, an
electronic signature or facsimile signature of the physician physician,
physician assistant, or nurse practitioner shall be acceptable. As used in
this section, the term electronic signature has the same meaning as applies in
G.S. 66-58.2. The physician physician, physician assistant, or
nurse practitioner shall state the cause of death on the certificate in
definite and precise terms. A certificate containing any indefinite terms or
denoting only symptoms of disease or conditions resulting from disease as
defined by the State Registrar, shall be returned to the person making the
medical certification for correction and more definite statement.
(d) The physician
physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or medical
examiner making the medical certification as to the cause of death shall
complete the medical certification no more than three days after death. The physician
physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or medical
examiner may, in appropriate cases, designate the cause of death as unknown
pending an autopsy or upon some other reasonable cause for delay, but shall
send the supplementary information to the local registrar as soon as it is
obtained."
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective October 1, 2011.