The Reference Committee recommends this be adopted as new ArMA Policy.

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona has significantly expanded the scope of practice for various healthcare providers in recent years, including Naturopathic Physicians, Homeopathic Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants; and

WHEREAS, Arizona law currently consists of a "patchwork" of rules where different categories of providers are subject to vastly different requirements and definitions of unprofessional conduct. These regulations are fragmented across several chapters of A.R.S. Title 32, including:

WHEREAS, most statutory definitions of unprofessional conduct for these professions focus on provider integrity, honesty, and mandatory disclosures to help patients make informed decisions, rather than clinical scope of practice; and

WHEREAS, the general public often does not realize that different providers are governed by entirely different sets of rules, leading to significant gaps in patient protection; and

WHEREAS, as recently as 2026, HB2686 highlighted this disparity by requiring call coverage plans for surgeries in outpatient centers only for MDs and DOs, effectively exempting other licensed providers who perform the same procedures from these safety requirements; and

WHEREAS, current law under A.R.S. § 32-1401(27)(nn) requires only Medicine and Surgery Physicians to disclose the basis of "board certification" claims, even though Osteopathic Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and others also make such claims; and

WHEREAS, because any individual can create a "board" to "certify" someone regardless of the certification's clinical merit, the Arizona Legislature enacted disclosure laws to educate the public—yet these protections currently exclude patients treated by non-MD providers; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that ArMA support legislation to harmonize statutory requirements and definitions of unprofessional conduct across all healthcare professions, ensuring that standards for honesty, integrity, and disclosure are applied uniformly; and be it further

RESOLVED, that ArMA support legislation to require healthcare providers in all professions who claim "board certification" to provide the same transparent disclosures required under A.R.S. § 32-1401(27)(nn) so patients have the information necessary to evaluate those claims.

“RESOLVED, that ArMA support legislation requiring all licensed health care professionals who advertise or represent board certification, specialty certification, or equivalent credentialing status to disclose the full name of the certifying entity and whether that certification is recognized by the relevant Arizona licensing board; and be it further
RESOLVED that ArMA support procedure-specific patient-safety requirements that apply uniformly to all licensed professionals performing the same procedure in the same setting, regardless of license type.”