Blog: NPs’ role in primary care is already growing

Match data for 2014 show a modest increase in the primary care physician workforce, but the increase offers little redress to the primary care provider shortage, wrote Joanne Pohl, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP; Debra Barksdale, PhD, FNP-BC, ANP-BC, CNE, FAANP, FAAN; and Kitty Werner, MPA, in a recent HealthAffairs Blog post. By comparison, “… if one looks at the increase of [nurse practitioners] (1,804) completing primary care programs versus the addition of 19 more U.S. medical school matches, one can see the compelling evidence that NPs already have a significantly growing role in U.S. primary care delivery,” they wrote. “Physician shortages can be addressed by the rapid growth of nurse practitioners (NPs), trained in primary care, along with the redesign of primary care to include teams that can be led by both physicians and NPs. But our nation’s primary care needs can only be met if states allow NPs to practice to the fullest extent of their training without unnecessary requirements for physician supervision.”

Source: HealthAffairs Blog