NORTHAMPTON — Physician assistants and health care advocates are hopeful a bill being considered on Beacon Hill could help to address a statewide shortage in primary care providers.

The bill, called An Act Removing Barriers to Care for Physician Assistants (H.2371/S.1502), would allow experienced physician assistants with more than 2,000 clinical hours to practice without filing a supervising physician with the state. Advocates say the filing requirement, which the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) says has not been updated since 2012, can prevent physician assistants from providing care in a timely manner, or to the full extent of their training and experience.

During a time when patients across the state are sitting on months-long wait lists to get the care they need, some see potential for the bill to increase access to health care.

“It’s kind of a Byzantine process,” said Brian Beauvais, a physician assistant at Caring Health Center in Springfield, of the supervisory filing process.

Beauvais explained that the idea behind a physician assistant position is that it is a collaborative one, using the expertise of both the PA and a medical doctor to provide the best care possible for a patient. But, he said, “this relationship seems to occur organically and naturally,” without the extra step of navigating what can be a frustrating and continuous stream of paperwork.

Typically, Beauvais said he and other physician assistants will collaborate with whoever is available at the time rather than always going to one particular person. Beauvais also clarified that a supervising physician doesn’t need to be on site. His own supervisor on file is often not on site, but is available should he call with any questions.

But whether a supervising physician is in the same building as a PA or not, if that physician leaves their practice, it creates difficulty for the PA, regardless of who else they have around to aid them in providing care.

Physician turnover can have a major impact on the ability of physician assistants to practice efficiently. Often times, Beauvais said, a physician will leave, meaning a physician assistant will have to find a new supervisor to file before they can go about their work as normal again.

“Often physicians are moving from practice to practice, or are unavailable to supervise,” said Beauvais.

Beauvais has experienced firsthand the frustrations of this filing requirement throughout his nine years practicing — especially when he hears from patients that they have waited months to get in for their appointment, and still have family members waiting to receive care.

“Our goal is to get patients into care quickly,” he said, and this bill might be one way to remove some roadblocks.

The AAPA notes that some critics of removing the supervisory filing requirement have expressed concern that patient care would suffer. But Beauvais pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to file a supervising physician with the state was held, and care was not only expanded to meet increased needs, but remained “excellent.”

“It’s a collaborative process, providing the best care to patients,” said Beauvais, who noted that this means working with those who are available, which many times is already not a PA’s designated supervising physician.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.