On April 17, 2020, Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 28 which amends Executive Order No. 15 and removes additional regulatory barriers to facilitate the treatment and containment of COVID-19.
Executive Order No. 28 lifts several health care industry regulations including suspending the collaborating physician requirement for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, waiving some licensure requirements for dentistry and nursing school graduates, and expanding the facilities where autopsies may be performed. More specifically, Executive Order No. 28 does the following:
Nurse Practitioners
- Suspends the collaborating physician requirement for nurse practitioners. (Section 5.1)
Physician Assistants
- Suspends the collaborating physician requirement for physician assistants. (Section 6.1)
Board of Dentistry
- Permits the Board of Dentistry to grant licensure to individuals who will graduate in 2020 from an accredited dental school and have completed all other licensure requirements. (Section 7.13)
- Allows the Board of Dentistry to modify its licensing procedures in accordance with the provision above. (Section 7.14)
Department of Health – Memorandum of Understanding
- Classifies any Memorandum of Understanding, entered into by the Tennessee Department of Health and permitted under 45 C.F.R. § 164.512, as an emergency order pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 58, Chapter 2, Part 1. (Section 7.15)
Nursing School Graduates
- Allows nursing school graduates, who have graduated on or after December 1, 2019 and are waiting to take the National Council Licensure Exam, to practice nursing under the supervision of a licensed registered nurse. (Section 7.16)
Home Health Services
- Allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to write orders for home health services. (Section 7.17)
Autopsies
- Allows autopsies to be performed at facilities that are not accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners; provided, that such facility is deemed adequate by the State Chief Medical Examiner. (Section 7.18)
Medical Laboratory – Remote Review
- Allows medical laboratory personnel to remotely review electronic data and report laboratory results without having a separate laboratory license for each remote location. Personnel must be employed by a licensed medical laboratory and work under the supervision of a laboratory director. (Section 9.3)
Prohibition on Price Gouging
- Extends the prohibition against price gouging for medical and emergency supplies until 12:01 a.m., Central Daylight Time, on May 3, 2020. (Section 13.2)
The full text of Executive Order No. 28 can be found at https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/pub/execorders/exec-orders-lee28.pdf.