Massachusetts issues emergency orders to address hospital staffing shortages
To ease strain on the state's healthcare system, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) issued several emergency orders aimed to address continued critical staffing shortages. Since the beginning of 2021, staffing shortages have contributed to the loss of approximately 700 medical/surgical and intensive care unit hospital beds statewide.
The emergency orders include one that allows physician assistants (PA) to practice independently without physician supervision if "they are employed within a provider setting where PAs work together with physicians to provide patient care and the PA is qualified and practicing within their scope of practice, experience, and training."
Another emergency order enables expedited licensure of foreign-trained physicians. Physicians who do not have a Massachusetts limited license, will qualify for licensure if they have at least two years of post-graduate training.
An emergency order also aims to improve interfacility staff transfer flexibility by requiring DPH-licensed facilities to expedite credentialing and facilitate staff transfers between hospitals and provider systems.