Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act

Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act

Introduction

The general idea of the bill is to end the collaboration agreement between a nurse practitioner and a physician as a condition for practice. This bill modifies the act of nurse practice in Education law to remove the requirements for practice protocols and collaboration agreements between physicians and nurse practitioners. The need for this bill is to strengthen the nurse practitioners' efforts to achieve the various healthcare goals in order to improve the healthcare system of the United States. A fundamental step toward achieving these goals is educating and training nurse practitioners for development. This paper describes critical challenges and opportunities in implementing modernization act and the social responsibility of the nursing profession in this area. Engaging in health activities such as study programs, continuing education workshops, inter professional exchanges, and seminars with a health focus can have significant implications for nursing research, education, practice and policy. Equipping nurses with the knowledge, leadership skills and attitudes required to advance health is integral in the delivery of effective, and relevant health care.

Discussion

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) practice in a variety of specialty care and primary settings including acute, ambulatory, primary care, and long term care. Nurse practitioners are certified and licensed by the State Education Department for diagnosing physical conditions and illness and perform therapeutic and corrective measures, prescribe medications, order tests, immunizing agents and medical devices and, when suitable, refer patients to other health care providers, without supervision. In addition to their advanced certification by the Nursing Board, many Nurse Practitioners are certified by national accrediting agencies in one or more practice specialty.

At present, New York requires a mandatory collaboration relationship between a NP and a MD. That relationship is defined by a written practice agreement which can be as narrow or as broad as the MD is willing. Elsewhere, NPs practice with complete independence in 13 states (AL, AZ, DC, IA, ID, ME, MT, NH, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY). Given the education, advanced certification and training of NPs, mandatory collaboration no longer requires for a clinical purpose. Instead, mandatory collaboration serves as a barrier to practice and a disincentive to advanced certification, and it limits access to primary health care for families and individuals in underserved areas of the state (American Nurses Association, 2010).

The bill of Practitioners' Modernization created substantial confusion about whether nurse practitioners are supervised by doctors. In New York, they are not supervised by the doctors rather; state law requires a collaborative relationship between nurse practitioners and physicians, as evidenced by a written practice agreement.

Practice requirements for nurse practitioners are determined and vary by individual state. Twenty states, including New York, follow a collaborative practice model. Only 12 states require that nurse practitioners practice under the direct supervision of a physician. Eighteen states now follow an independent practice model, which recognizes that nurse practitioners maintain collegial relationships with other health care providers not by legal necessity, but as a professional responsibility. In New York, the collaborating physician is not legally ...