Marion OB/GYN, Inc. v. State Medical Board of Ohio

Marion OB/GYN, Inc. v. State Medical Board of Ohio,
No. 99AP-436 (Ohio Ct. App. May 4, 2000)

The plaintiff requested
the defendant to approve a supplemental plan that would permit the plaintiff’s
licensed physician assistant to perform low-risk, vaginal deliveries. In support
of its request, the plaintiff supplied information concerning the qualifications
of the physician assistant. The defendant denied the request on the basis that
performing deliveries was beyond the scope of practice for physician assistants
in Ohio. After exhausting the administrative hearing process, the plaintiff
then appealed to the courts. The trial court reversed the State Board’s order
on several grounds, one of which was that the State Board had engaged in impermissible
rule-making by adjudication. On appeal, the appellate court reversed. Relying
on United States Supreme Court authority, it held that the defendant did not
exceed its inherent or statutory authority by considering overall scope of practice
issues in the context of a particular applicant. “If the board does not
have the implied authority, when considering a supplemental plan, to find a
procedure beyond the scope of practice of any physician assistants, their scope
of practice would be unlimited provided a physician assistant had obtained additional
training. Such a situation cannot have been intended by the General Assembly.”