(a)        Whenever a statute or State agency rule requires that a medical or physical examination shall be conducted by a physician, the examination may be conducted and the form signed by a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, and a physician need not be present. Nothing in this section shall otherwise change the scope of practice of a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, as defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-18.1 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-18.2, respectively.

(b)        This section shall not apply to physical examinations conducted pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 35; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15B-12; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-14 unless those statutes or rules are amended to make the provisions of this section applicable. ?(1999-226, s. 1; 2004-124, s. 18.2(f); 2019-191, s. 37.)