Utah has become the first state to adopt the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact through legislation.
Gov. Spencer Cox signed the bill March 14. The PA Licensure Compact is a multistate contract that will allow physician assistants to have their licenses to practice recognized by other member states and ease portability of their professional capacity.
The compact "reduces time and cost burdens for PAs to engage in multistate practice," according to the initiative's website and "through the establishment of a data system, will also enhance public protection by facilitating the sharing of licensure and disciplinary information across compact members states."
Seven states must also enact the PA Licensure Compact with the exact same language via legislation for it to become active, according to the American Academy of Physician Associates. While Utah is the only state that has enacted it, several others have filed legislation with the intent of doing so, including Texas, Minnesota, Ohio and Rhode Island.
The PA Licensure Compact also is intended to allow for portability ease for military spouses who move between member states to continue practicing without downtime to reacquire license in a new location as well as ease practicing of telemedicine.