Earlier this year, Delaware lawmakers acted to prevent patients from mistaking artificial intelligence for a healthcare professional. House Bill 191, signed into law April 23, prohibits a nonhuman entity, including an AI agent, from being licensed as a physician, nurse, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant. The principle is simple: patients deserve to know who – or what – is providing their healthcare.
That same principle should apply when the provider is human. Delaware has expanded the authority of nonphysician healthcare professionals, like nurse practitioners, to independently diagnose and treat patients, but patients may not always know whether the person treating them is a physician. The next step is clear: bring the Healthcare Professional Transparency Act back and ensure Delaware patients know the professional license of the person diagnosing and treating them.
In Delaware, nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat patients without physician supervision.
And the confusion is real. An American Medical Association survey found that 39% of respondents identified a Doctor of Nursing Practice as a physician. Nineteen percent thought a nurse practitioner was a physician, and 17% thought a physician assistant was a physician.
Patients have a right to know whether the person diagnosing and treating them is a physician.
Delaware lawmakers recognized the need for greater transparency in 2024. House Bill 447 would have required healthcare practitioners using doctor to identify their educational degree and professional license. It also would have required most healthcare practitioners to wear visible identification showing their name and license type, and healthcare advertisements to accurately identify practitioners' licenses. But HB 447 never became law.
The General Assembly should bring HB 447 back in 2027 – and strengthen it. In addition to its original disclosure requirements, the bill should require patients to be clearly told whether the person diagnosing and treating them is a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or another licensed healthcare professional before non-emergency care is provided.
This isn't about prohibiting earned academic titles or telling patients which healthcare professional to choose; it's about giving patients the information they need to make that choice for themselves.
Patients shouldn't have to ask whether their doctor is actually a physician.
Sign the Healthcare Professional Transparency Petition at www.caesarrodney.org.
Michelle Parsons MD
Center for Health Policy
Caesar Rodney Institute
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