The Illinois State Medical Society announced on April 17 that it has successfully advocated against several proposed bills in the Illinois Senate and House, which the organization says could negatively affect patient care.
According to the society, House Bill 5214 and Senate Bill 2932 would allow Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to practice independently. The group said that anesthesia and pain management are forms of critical care with their own risks, and when complications occur, immediate intervention by physicians is needed to prevent serious injury or death. “There is no aspect of removing the supervision requirement that improves patient access to anesthesia care. Patient safety must be the driver behind any modification to our healthcare laws,” the statement said.
The organization also raised concerns about Senate Bill 3238 and House Bill 4779, which would permit Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to administer radiation without physician oversight. The society stated that because radiation can physically alter DNA and tissue, mistakes can have serious consequences. “Just as a surgeon decides where to cut, a physician must decide the exact dosage and fractionation (how the dose is split up over days). Too little radiation and the cancer survives; too much, and you risk permanent damage to healthy organs,” according to their statement.
Another bill opposed by ISMS is House Bill 4429, which would restrict how physicians use body mass index (BMI) in diagnosing or treating patients. The bill would prohibit diagnoses based solely on BMI measurements and require health professionals only use methodologies recommended by widely recognized clinical guidelines or evidence-based standards. The society questioned who determines what guideline is appropriate under this legislation. “The proposal suggests that measuring BMI is not valuable and should not be used. This crosses the line between public service and dictating the practice of medicine. Statutes should not be distorted into medical guidelines,” they said.
Members with questions were encouraged by ISMS Senior Vice President of State Legislative Affairs Erin O’Brien to reach out for more information via email.
