May 1, 2017
Dear Editor,
We support House Bill 88/Senate Bill 73, the Modernize Nursing Practice Act, and know that patients across the state do, too.
Under current law, many Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must be “supervised” by a physician. In this case, “supervised” does’t mean what you might think. Physicians aren’t looking over APRNs’ shoulders, checking charts and diagnosing illnesses. In fact, a physician never has to actually see an APRN’s patients; they don’t even have to work in the same city as the APRNs they’re supervising. Often, the “supervision” requirement means little more than a couple meetings per year with a physician who can charge the APRN thousands of dollars in fees.
Evidence is vital to healthcare, and the scare tactics used by opponents to this bill simply aren’t rooted in evidence. Research over the last 40 years has shown time and again that APRNs provide high quality care that is comparably safe to that of physicians for overlapping care.
The main goal of this bill is removing superfluous and expensive “supervision” requirements. A recent Duke University study shows the state would save at least $433 million per year with this type of legislation while increasing access for people who lack healthcare.
Similar bills have already been passed in many other states, and not one of them has subsequently seen the need to revert back. We applaud the legislators working to pass HB 88/SB 73 so that APRNs can fully utilize their training to provide care for the people of North Carolina.
Sincerely,
Teresa Duncan, MSN, RN-BC, NE-BC
South Central Regional Director, North Carolina Nurses Association
Mary Graff, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
President, North Carolina Nurses Association
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