Georgia CommonsHB 981: Professions and businesses; expand certain advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant prescriptive authorizations
Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action January 27, 2026 · Introduced
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
House Bill 981
By: Representatives Powell of the 33rd, Ehrhart of the 36th, O’Steen of the 169th, Jackson of the 128th, and Jones of the 47th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians, assistants, and others, so as to expand certain advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant prescriptive authorizations; to provide for a definition; to increase certain prescriptive authorizations from five-day to 30 day supplies; to remove certain prohibitions on writing prescriptions for minors; to provide for certain prescriptive authorization to order stimulants; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians, assistants, and others, is amended by adding a new paragraph to subsection (a) of and by revising subsection (d.1), paragraph (10) of subsection (g), and paragraph (2) of subsection
(m) of Code Section 43-34-25, relating to delegation of certain medical acts to advanced practice registered nurse, construction and limitations of such delegation, definitions, conditions of nurse protocol, and issuance of prescription drug orders, to read as follows: "(16) 'Stimulant' means any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that increases heart rate, breathing, or brain function as provided in paragraph (3) of Code Section
16-13-26."
"(d.1) An advanced practice registered nurse who has at least one year of post-licensure clinical experience and is in good standing with the board may be authorized under a nurse protocol agreement to issue prescription drug orders for stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof in emergency situations pursuant to the following requirements:
(1) The authorization is specifically included in the nurse protocol agreement;
(2) The advanced practice registered nurse has directly evaluated the patient;
(3) The prescription drug order is limited to an initial prescription, not to exceed a five-day 30 day supply; and
(4) The prescription drug order is for an individual 18 years of age or older; and (5)(4) The advanced practice registered nurse completes one hour of continuing education biennially in the appropriate ordering and use of stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and compounds thereof."
"(10) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d.1) of this Code section, in any emergency medical services system operated by, or on behalf of, any county, municipality, or hospital authority with a full-time physician medical director who does not order drugs, except that he or she may order up to a 14 day supply of drugs as necessary in an emergency situation, excluding benzodiazepines and all Schedule II controlled substances except hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof; provided, however, that an advanced practice registered nurse shall not order radiographic imaging, diagnostic studies, or medical devices pursuant to this paragraph; and provided, further, that a patient shall be referred to a physician, a dentist, or a federally qualified health center."
"(2)(A) Further, the board shall be authorized to:
(i) Require that a nurse protocol agreement shall be filed by the delegating physician with the board within a reasonable time from the date of execution;
(ii) Determine, after review of a filed nurse protocol agreement, if such nurse protocol agreement fails to meet accepted standards of medical practice as established by the board; and
(iii) Require the delegating physician to amend any such noncompliant nurse protocol agreement in order to meet such accepted standards.
(B) If a medical practice has an existing approved nurse protocol agreement and an alternate delegating physician or a change in the delegating physician within the same or similar specialty, such new nurse protocol agreement for the new alternate delegating physician or a change in the delegating physician, upon submission, shall be automatically deemed approved authorized by the board.
(C) If a delegating physician submits a nurse protocol agreement for a new advanced practice registered nurse and such nurse protocol agreement has substantially the same terms and provisions as a nurse protocol agreement previously submitted by such delegating physician for another advanced practice registered nurse and approved by the board, the nurse protocol agreement for the new advanced practice registered nurse, upon submission, shall be automatically deemed approved authorized by the board."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended by revising paragraphs (1) and (10) of subsection (e.1) of Code Section 43-34-103, relating to delegation of authority to physician assistants, as follows:
"(e.1)(1)(A) In addition to and without limiting the authority granted by Code Section 43-34-23, a physician may delegate to a physician assistant, in accordance with a job description, the authority to issue a prescription drug order or orders for any device as defined in Code Section 26-4-5 or to issue any dangerous drug as defined in Code Section 16-13-71, stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, or any Schedule III, IV, or V controlled substance as defined in Code Section 16-13-21 on a prescription drug order or prescription device order form as specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection. Delegation of such authority shall be contained in the job description required by this Code section. The delegating physician shall remain responsible for the medical acts of the physician assistant performing such delegated acts and shall adequately supervise the physician assistant. If an existing job description for a physician assistant does not contain such authority to order a prescription drug or device order as provided by this subsection, that physician assistant may not issue any such prescription drug or device order until a new job description delegating such authority is submitted to and approved by the board. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to authorize the written prescription drug order of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, except as authorized pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(B) A physician may delegate to a physician assistant who has at least one year of post-licensure clinical experience and is in good standing with the board the authority to issue prescription drug orders for stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof in emergency situations pursuant to the following requirements:
(i) The authorization is specifically included in the job description;
(ii) The physician assistant has directly evaluated the patient; and
(iii) The drug order is limited to an initial prescription not to exceed a five-day 30 day supply; and
(iv) The prescription drug order is for an individual 18 years of age or older." "(10)(A) A physician assistant delegated the authority by the primary supervising physician to issue a prescription drug or device order shall be required to complete a minimum of three hours of continuing education biennially in practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescriptive order privileges.
(B) A physician assistant delegated the authority by the primary supervising physician to issue a prescription drug or device order for stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof shall be required to complete one additional hour of continuing education biennially in the appropriate ordering and use of stimulants, hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.