News and briefs: Virginia law strengthens teamwork, expands care options

Physicians and nurse practitioners (NP) in Virginia recently updated the law that explains how the two groups can work together to provide additional team-based care. The law expands NPs scopes of practice by allowing them to work in locations separate from their team physician. Before the law went into effect in March, NPs had to be under the direct supervision (in the same location) as the physician. The law also expands the number of NPs a physician can partner with from four to six.

“A lot of employers will have more options to use their nurse practitioners with more flexibility,” Mark Coles, RN, chair of government relations for the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, said in an article with American Medical News. “You can put a nurse practitioner 50 miles away to serve a wider population where a physician is not available to go.”

The law is aimed at increasing access to care for Virginia residents. It is estimated that 150,000 additional residents in that state could acquire healthcare in the next few years through the Affordable Care Act. To read more about the law, click here.