Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Many Independent Florida NPs Working Outside of Primary Care

The American Medical Association (AMA) frequently cautions against certain expanded scope-of-practice allowances for nurse practitioners (NPs) in everyday patient care. In a new post, AMA points to a study in Family Practice that examined whether NPs in Florida are practicing within the state’s requirement, which stipulates that autonomous NPs must work within primary care. Since the passage of an expanded scope-of-practice rule in 2020, Florida has allowed NPs who complete at least 3,000 clinical practice …

Missouri Aims To Allow NPs To Practice Independently

Missouri lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow nurse practitioners (NPs) to practice independently, according to NPR. Right now, Missouri NPs are required to have a “collaborating” physician who provides oversight, which comes with a financial cost for operators while also driving many NPs to move to neighboring states where they can practice independently, according to the report. Compared to other states, Missouri has one of the strictest laws for NP scope of practice. …

NPs Advocate for Independent Practice in Texas

In Texas, nurse practitioners (NPs) are advocating for legislation that would allow them to practice independently without physician oversight. Texas is 1 of just 11 states that require such supervision. Although the policy proposal still has a long way to go, medical professionals are using the interim to chime in on the pros and cons—including the enhanced capabilities with physician-led care as well as the costs of physician engagement, which could start at $50,000 a …

Expect to See More Urgent Care NPs, PAs, and Telemedicine in 2017

The growth of telemedicine in urgent care and other settings is helping feed greater access to nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Relaxed scope of practice laws in both red and blue states, as well as evolving digital health technology that exploits the popularity of smartphones and tablets, make it easier and less expensive for patients to connect online—a model that typically employs NPs and PAs under the supervision of an on-site physician. This is further …

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