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Great article by John Iglehart, Founding Editor, Health Affairs Population aging and recent coverage expansions have fueled concerns about physician shortages in primary care, leading several influential groups to recommend that nurse practitioners take on a larger role. The ACA promotes nurse practitioners as an integral part of the future workforce, and emerging care settings, such as retail clinics, rely heavily on nurse practitioners.

This is a great systematic review that delves into state by state regulations on scope of practice for APRNs and how restrictive practice ultimately reduces access to healthcare particularly in rural populations. The impact of the ACA and shortage of PCPs to meet this demand is also explored. Enjoy!

The researchers in this article focused on analyzing what kind of economic impact that giving APRNs full scope of practice in North Carolina would have. They calculated the impact by first projecting the increase in APRN graduates choosing to work in the state after full scope would be awarded. Projections of the increase in demand for providers due to both the ACA and an aging population were also taken into consideration. The findings in this analysis were that giving APRNs full scope of practice in the state would benefit the economy with increased output, employment, and tax revenue all while decreasing provider shortages. The state could save upwards of $495 million in gross product annually.

Hopefully, results such as these will give other states with more restrictive policies incentive to change their practice guidelines.

This article discusses the barriers to NP practice with the current healthcare reform by addressing the shortage of primary care providers and the limitations of APRN practice. Barriers that were emphasized include state practice and licensure, physician related issues, education, and role perception. This article stresses that an APRN should be able to practice to the fullest extent of their training.

This is an excellent overview of common barriers to APRN practice that effect the Triple Aim for healthcare: better care (individuals), better health (populations), and lower cost.

This article first provides a brief history on APRNs. It also discusses barriers to the APRN scope of practice.