N.Y. grants greater autonomy to NPs

Nurse practitioners (NP) in New York will be able to operate more independently of physicians under a bill slated to become law as part of the state budget enacted earlier this week. The Nurse Practitioners Modernization Act will remove the requirement of a written practice agreement between an experienced NP and a physician as a condition of practice. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Seventeen other states and Washington, D.C. have already done this, although physician groups at the federal level have opposed efforts to give NPs more independence. They cite concerns over patient safety and quality of care because NPs do not have as much training as physicians. Nurse practitioners say they want to operate more independently so they can pick up some of the slack created by a growing doctor shortage.

Source: Syracuse Media Group