OH HB423

Creates new licensure requirements under the State Medical Board for surgical assistants, requiring certification from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or National Commission for the Certification of Surgical Assistants, with a $200 application fee and biennial $200 renewal fee

Requires hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities to employ only surgical technologists who are certified by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or National Center for Competency Testing, effective three years after the bill's passage

Establishes a 5-year grandfathering provision allowing individuals who practiced as surgical assistants in Ohio during the 6 months prior to application to obtain licensure without national certification

Permits hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities in underserved areas to apply for waivers allowing unlicensed individuals to practice as surgical assistants if the facility demonstrates limited access to surgical care

Authorizes licensed surgical assistants to perform delegated surgical activities including providing exposure, maintaining hemostasis, making incisions, closing surgical sites, manipulating tissue, and implanting devices, but only under physician supervision