§3270-A. Assistants
This chapter may not be construed to prohibit an individual from rendering medical services if these services are rendered under the supervision and control of a physician or surgeon and if that individual has satisfactorily completed a training program approved by the Board of Licensure in Medicine and a competency examination determined by this board. Supervision and control may not be construed as requiring the personal presence of the supervising and controlling physician at the place where these services are rendered, unless a physical presence is necessary to provide patient care of the same quality as provided by the physician. This chapter may not be construed as prohibiting a physician or surgeon from delegating to the physician's or surgeon's employees or support staff certain activities relating to medical care and treatment carried out by custom and usage when the activities are under the control of the physician or surgeon. The physician delegating these activities to employees or support staff, to program graduates or to participants in an approved training program is legally liable for the activities of those individuals, and any individual in this relationship is considered the physician's agent. This section may not be construed to apply to registered nurses acting pursuant to chapter 31. [2013, c. 33, §2 (AMD).]
When the delegated activities are part of the practice of optometry as defined in chapter 34-A, then the individual to whom these activities are delegated must possess a valid license to practice optometry in Maine, or otherwise may perform only as a technician within the established office of a physician, and otherwise acting solely on the order of and under the responsibility of a physician skilled in the treatment of eyes as designated by the proper professional board, and without assuming evaluation or interpretation of examination findings by prescribing corrective procedures to preserve, restore or improve vision. [1993, c. 600, Pt. A, §205 (AMD).]