Nurse Anesthetists' Role to Expand?

Nurses Seek Expanded Role by Timothy W. Martin.   The Wall Street Journal.  October 3, 2012.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will decide by November if Nurse Anesthetists should be directly reimbursed by  Medicare for pain treatment services including epidurals and writing prescriptions for painkillers called opioids.

This proposed decision is sharply opposed by doctor's groups who assert that it could lead to increases in painkiller prescriptions, increased costs, and looser control of painkillers.  The AARP, the Rural Health Association, and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists support the proposed decision stating that there are not enough pain doctors to meet demand.

In light of state pressure to crack down on writing pain killer prescriptions, there is pressure to ramp up training requirements for physicians writing those prescriptions.  The AANA does not have specific training requirements.  Doctors who are not pain specialists may receive only a few weeks relevant training in residency or in medical school.