THE VALUED VOICE

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee Jan. 8 recommended passage of Senate Bill 254, legislation addressing a regulatory bottleneck in Wisconsin’s health care workforce that results in unnecessary delays in acting upon a patient’s advance directive wishes for treatment. The bill helps address these delays by recognizing the education and training of nurse practitioners and physician assistants to make the medical diagnoses necessary to activate the patient’s written medical wishes. Under the bill a physician must still confirm the diagnosis.

The legislation still needs approval from the full State Senate but has already been approved by the State Assembly through a unanimous, bipartisan vote. The full Senate is expected to meet at least two more times before the legislative session ends later in 2020.