Opioid Policies

MSDC sent a physician sign-on letter to Council Chair Phil Mendelson today opposing the scope of practice changes in B25-545.

The letter, seen below, asks the Chair to work with the physician community to remove scope provisions that would replace physicians as the head of the medical care team and provide less, more expensive care to patients.

MSDC and the Physician Voices for Patient Safety have worked hard on this legislation since it was introduced in November and have successfully removed many worrying changes to DC law. However, the bill, which could pass as early as next week, still contains scope changes for APRNs, podiatrists, and other allied health providers.

Physicians interested in taking action on this bill can learn more at msdc.org/scope. MSDC is especially asking physicians to contact the Council today to ask them to remove the scope provisions.

Phil Mendelson
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Chairman Mendelson:

We, the undersigned physicians, urge you to remove any language in B25-545 that expands the scope of practice of allied health providers. 88% of DC physicians oppose the bill (according to a survey conducted by MSDC in March 2024 among physicians licensed to practice in Washington, DC).

Our patients deserve the safest care. A physician is the most highly trained provider on a patient’s care team. Physicians work closely with patients and other medical professionals to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries. We take the lead on patient care because physicians have the most extensive medical training of any healthcare professional. Unlike other healthcare professionals, physicians have undergone 11-15 years of education and training after school, including four years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency/fellowship training, and up to 16,000 supervised patient care hours.

B25-545 is a bill to update the statute governing healthcare professionals, but it includes major scope of practice changes for other health professionals. In other states, removing the physician from the care team has led to worse health outcomes to patients and more expensive care for the communities where they live.

This bill is dangerous for patient care and DC residents will be harmed by expanding scope of practice to undertrained practitioners. As a physician licensed in the District, I urge you to remove all new scope of practice changes in B25-545 when you mark up the bill.