The Public Asks for NPs by Name
In the throes of this presidential transition, everyone's talking about health care. And peppered throughout the discussion is the repeated request for more nurse practitioners, and more scope for NPs.
I recently blogged about Val Jones, who writes the blog "Getting Better With Dr. Val," and who hosted a health care discussion at her home as part of the Obama transition team's informal health care discussion program. Attendees of that discussion group said they wanted more access to NPs.
An editorialist for the Texas newspaper Star Telegram wrote "Ten healthcare suggestions for the Texas Legislature," which calls for the following:
Increase healthcare access by increasing providers and broadening scope of practice.
The state demographer reports Texas will need at least 40,000 new doctors by 2025 because of physician retirements and population growth. The Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas recommends increasing the number of medical school graduates by 25 percent and dentists by 20 percent over the next decade. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are increasingly important in rural areas, and staff most retail health clinics. Onerous physician oversight requirements handcuff too many opportunities to give basic care.
More and more Americans are asking for NPs by name. But, in a different blog post written on the West Seattle Blog, the author describes how at another health care discussion group, there was confusion about NPs, indicating that NPs can't let up their efforts to educate the public about their role:
Monica wondered why she’s been charged the same whether she sees a doctor or a nurse practitioner, suggesting that she would expect cost savings from consulting with the latter. Diane shared a similar experience, and mentioned a health-insurance plan that had required her to see a doctor even though she could have seen a nurse practitioner instead.
Will the new demand for NPs create more confusion? Perhaps NPs would benefit from thinking about what new questions patients will have about NPs and being prepared with clear answers.