Legislation would change rule for physicians in rural facilities

Rural and small hospitals may get relief from a federal rule that requires a physician to be present in a department during routine procedures, such as blood transfusions and some immunizations. Critics have argued that the law, passed in 2009, could stretch physicians too thin and could lead to fewer medical services being available. The rule wasn’t enforced at small hospitals until this year.

Legislation prohibiting continued enforcement of the rule cleared the U.S. Senate this week and is headed to the House. The federal rule applied only to Medicare and Medicaid patients, but those patients comprise the majority of people treated at most small and rural hospitals, according to the American Hospital Association. The House has yet to vote on the bill or schedule committee hearings, but the legislation is considered likely to pass, the Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) reported.

Source: Spokesman-Review