Showing posts with label nurse practitioner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nurse practitioner. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Nurse Practitioners Try Obamacare Workaround For Insurance Primary Care Roadblock

Nurse Practitioners Try New Tack To Expand Foothold In Primary Care by Julie Appleby.  September 8, 2013.

(1)  To insure expanded authority to deliver primary care, nurse practitioners are asking the Obama administration _____________________________.

(2)  Some insurers do not accept nurse practitioners into their ______________, while others restrict them to ______________.

(3)  Being credentialed in insurers' networks will allow nurse practitioners to _______________.

(4)  Insurers say that a _________________ complicates nurses' ability to practice primary care and bill directly.

(5)  Providing primary care without the supervision of physicians has been endorsed by the ______________.

(6)  Physicians groups say that, absent a team approach with physicians in the lead, patients will be ______________.

(7)  Since nurse practitioners undergo a shorter training time, their numbers ____________________.

(8)  About _____________ nurse practitioners run their own offices.

(9)  About ________ percent of 258 larger HMOs nationwide credential nurse practitioners as primary care providers.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Trends Point To Increasing Human Resources For Primary Care, Acceptance Of Medicare Patients By New Primary Care Physicians.



More Medical Students Are Choosing To Become Family Doctors___And That's Good News For Obamacare by Sy Mukherjee.  Think Progress.  August 22, 2013.

Residency Census Report:  Family Medicine Attracts More U.S. Medical School Graduates.  American Academy of Family Physicians.  August 21, 2013.

(1)  The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the current shortage of physicians today is __________________ with ________________ estimated for 2024.

(2)  The number of U.S. physicians, according to a study by USA Today, accepting Medicare patients has increased ________%.

(3)  Older physicians leaving the field are _________ to accept Medicare patients than new primary care physicians entering the field.

(4)  The article indicates that medical school may be ________________ in response to Obamacare.

(5)  ______________ is an important factor in the shortage of primary care professionals with ______ percent of all nurse practitioners  working in  subspeciality areas and _______ percent of all physician assistants in subspecialities.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Nurse Practitioners Gain From Changes In Scope Of Practice Laws

Nurse Practitioners Slowly Gain Autonomy by Christne Vestal.  Stateline.  July 19, 2013.

Follow the above link, read, and take a brief quiz to improve your retention.  

(1)  At least ________ states allow nurse practitioners to work without a supervising physician.

(2)  Physician groups oppose changes to NP's scope of practice arguing that nurse practitioners lack the ____________________________________.

(3)  The most recent state to allow NP's to practice independently was _________.

(4)   The five states slated to consider NP independence this year are ___________________

(5)  Two states, _____________________, failed to pass legislation this year due to determined opposition from physician groups.

(6)  At least _________ million Americans live in areas with inadequate supply of primary care doctors.

(7)  Last year, only _________ U.S. medical school graduates went into primary care residency programs.

(8) A 2010 report from the _______________  points to 50 years of evidence to support the conclusion that NP care is as safe and effective  as that provided by physicians.

(9)  What role has the Federal Trade Commission had in state battles over scope of practice?

(10)  How has the practice of family medicine evolved?  How has this evolution impacted the debate about scope of practice?

(11)  Physicians are increasingly employed by large practices and hospitals.  How will this fact impact the scope of practice debate?

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Organizational, Policy, And Cultural Differences Widens Gap Between Physicians and Nurse Practitioners; Work Force Policy Is Likely To Suffer

The Gulf Between Doctors And Nurse Practitioners by Pauline Chen,  M.D.  Well Blog.  The New York Times.  June 27, 2013.

A key quote from this insightful article  touches on the arguments between nurse practitioners and physicians:    "These arguments touch on the whole nature of these professions, their core values and how they define themselves."

Monday, June 17, 2013

A Great Collection of Pro's And Con's On A Variety Of Healthcare Issues

Big Issues: Health Care.  The Wall Street Journal.  June 17, 2013.

A great collection of both sides of healthcare issues including:  Should Physician Pay Be Tied To Performance?  Should We Eat A Mostly Organic Diet?  Will Employers Stop Offering Health Insurance?  Should Hospital Residency Programs Expand to Produce More Doctors?  Should Nurse Practitioners Be Able To Treat Patients Without Physician Supervision?  and more

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Nurses, Doctors Disagree On Expanded Nurse Role

Docs Nurses disagree Over Expanded Nurse Role by Alvin Tran.  Kaiser Health News.  KHN Blog.  May 15, 2013.

Read the article and  test your retention with the following questions.

(1)  Nurses and doctors agree that nurse practitioners should be able to _________________.

(2)  Nurses and doctors disagree over whether advanced practice nurses should lead ___________
_______________.

(3)  More than ______% of nurse practitioners agreed with the idea of equal pay for providing the same health services while less than ________% of doctors did so.

(4)  The debate over the role of nurse practitioners has intensified as a result of ________________
_____________.

(5)  Illustrating a huge difference  ____% of doctors thought that care provided in exams and consultations was higher than that provided by nurse practitioners.  _____% of  nurse practitioners disagreed.

(6)  Nurses who said that they were not practicing to the full extent of their training blamed _______
_________________.

(7) Describe the differing perspective of doctors and nurses as to timeliness and effectiveness of care with increased involvement of nurse practitioners

Sunday, April 28, 2013

University Of California Study Found No Difference in Safety Of Abortions Between Physicians ad Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants/Nurse Midwifes

Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurses Practitioners, Physician Assistants And Certified Nurse Midwives.  Science Daily.  January 18, 2013.

The co-author of the study articulated a key element of its significance:  "As the U.S. demand for cost-effective health care increases, workforce development has become a key component of health care reform.  All qualified health professionals should perform clinical care to the fullest extent of their education and competency."

Monday, April 22, 2013

California Explores Alternatives To Confront Doctor Shortage

An Rx For The Doctor Shortage.  The Times editorial Board.  The Lost Angeles Times.  April 21, 2013.

The editorial board looks at  proposals in Sacramento to expand the authority of optometrists, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to offer more primary medical are independently of doctors.  Why no mention of physician assistants?

Sunday, April 7, 2013

New Program: Diabetes Speciality For Nurse Practitioners

Using Nurse Practitioners To Bring Critical Care To Patients by Mary Harris.  NBC Los Angeles.  April 6, 2013.

The University of California San Francisco is the first to offer a diabetes speciality for nurse practitioners.  It will most certainly be the last in light of the fact that there are 79 million pre-diabetics in the United States and the huge diabetes risk in the Latino population.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Will Staff more Than 300 Walgreen Stores

Walgreens Becomes 1st Retail Chain To Diagnose, Treat Chronic Conditions by Julie Appleby.  Kaiser Health News.  April 4, 2013.

The American Academy of Family Physicians was not pleased though Walgreens insisted that physicians will oversee Walgreens' clinics.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Nurse Practitioners Seek New Opportunities To Care For Obamacare's Newly Insured

Nurse Practitioners Push To Help Care For Health Law's Newly Insured by Alvin Tran.  February 20 2013.

This interview with the CEO of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners addresses issues including restrictive state laws on physician supervision of nurse practitioners, scope of practice concerns of physicians, Medicare reimbursement rates for services, and the increased demand for primary care as a result of implementation of the ACA.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Transforming Medicine While Producing Middle Class Jobs In the Process

The Robot Will See You Now by Jonathan Cohn.  Atlantic Magazine.  March 2013.

Among the insights of this article is the possibility that healthcare technology, in contrast with other industries, will result in expanded mid-level employment.  Implementation of technology in other industries hollowed out mid-level employment.  In healthcare such occupations as physician assistant, nurse practitioner etc could, under this scenario flourish while the role of physician will evolve toward more of a "super-quality-control officer."

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Needed: Alternatives to Doctors in Age of Obamacare

When The Doctor Is Not Needed.  Editorial.  The New York Times.  December 16, 2012.

Among the alternatives explored are pharmacists, nurse practitioners, retail clinics, community aides, and self-care at home.  Physician assistant is mentioned briefly.  Also mentioned is the funding provided by the Affordable Care Act for increases in medical residents, nurse practititoners, and physician assistants trained in primary care.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Scope of Practice Laws Impact Nurse Practitioners

In Many Communities, Nurse Practitioners Fill An Important Void by Chrisine Vestal, Stateline/Kaiser Health News.  December 6, 2012.

Using Buckingham County, Virginia as a case study, this article explores one aspect of the difficulties posed by the fact that there are 5,800 communities with a shortage of primary care physicians.  With extended coverage to 30 million more people in 2014, the problem is only going to get worse.  Additional physicians can only provide part of the solution.  Increasingly states are seeing nurse practitioners as a resource to address this physician supply problem.  However, scope of practice laws limit the independence of these nurses and therefore their ability to address the shortage.   Political tensions with doctors groups impact regulatory rules concerning the independence of nurses.   In Virginia in 2011 a new law was passed aimed at improving patient access to primary care cross that state.  The issues raised by this law, especially doctor supervision and required consultation in "complex" case, are a major concerns addressed in this article.