Meeting Primary Care Needs of Patients Drives Debate, Discussion on Workforce Shortage

Unnecessary regulations hinder ability of many health professionals to provide much needed primary care services. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) March 27, 2013 - WASHINGTON - As the clock ticks towards 2014, when millions of Americans are expected to gain health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a fundamental question continues to drive concern - are there enough primary care professionals to care for them?

Earlier this year, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging issued a report warning that with 30 million newly-insured individuals seeking care in 2014, at least 52,000 new primary care providers will be needed by 2025. The subcommittee also heard testimonies from experts about how the health system can accommodate this influx of newly insured patients and attract more physicians to practice primary care.

Researchers have also sounded alarms about a looming shortage, but a recent study in Health Affairs challenged the idea that a primary care shortage exists and made the case that there are sufficient numbers of healthcare professionals to meet the primary care needs of patients if non-M.D./D.O. health professionals like nurse practitioners are well-leveraged and team-based practice models are adopted.

"The common thread in the discussions around ensuring a strong healthcare workforce is that we can't leave any assets on the table," said Jan Towers, Ph.D., NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR), a coalition representing more than 3 million licensed and certified health professionals, and the senior policy advisor for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. "Every provider, including advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, chiropractic and naturopathic physicians, psychologists, therapists, and others, needs to be leveraged to the full extent of their skills and training to meet the primary care needs of the growing patient population."

Though the ACA was crafted to include the valuable roles that all health professionals play in meeting the growing patient demand for care, CPR is tracking potential threats to effectively using the nation's healthcare workforce. The National Conference of State Legislatures' Scope of Practice Legislative Database contains more than 150 bills this year that would impact many qualified healthcare professionals' ability to provide services. While some of the proposed laws support healthcare providers ability to provide services, other measures threaten patients' access to health services by unnecessarily restricting various healthcare professionals who are not medical or osteopathic physicians from providing the range of services they are educated, licensed and/or certified to offer.

In addition to these bills, states are beginning to roll out health insurance exchanges as part of ACA implementation. These exchanges will provide the framework for access to care, and depending on their structure, could promote or limit the access that patients have to a broad array of health professionals. This includes providers such as psychologists, chiropractors and advanced practice registered nurses who are already providing quality care and affordable services.

"Too often, the invaluable contributions that non-physician health providers can make are hindered by unnecessary regulations," continued Towers. For example, advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) in Connecticut are required to have a collaborative agreement with a physician in order to practice in the state. "In many cases, the talents of highly qualified APRNs are being squandered. They could be providing care for people with disabilities, mental health issues, elder care or diabetes management, but many give up in frustration because they could not find a physician willing to collaborate or they were faced with prohibitively high 'collaboration' fees."

"The number of patients who need access to primary care is growing at a daily rate," said Towers. "With just months until the ACA expands insurance coverage, we need to eliminate unnecessary barriers to affordable care. This can only be done by allowing all healthcare professionals to practice to the full extent of their ability, training, certification and licensure."

About the Coalition for Patients' Rights™
A national coalition of more than 35 professional membership organizations, the Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR) represents more than three million licensed and certified healthcare professionals and is committed to ensuring comprehensive healthcare choices for all patients. Formed in 2006, the Coalition supports a patient's right to choose the healthcare professional who best meets their health needs. To that end, the CPR advocates for the ability of all healthcare professionals to practice to the full extent of their ability, training, certification and licensure and works to ensure that transparent, patient-centered scope of practice guidelines promote consumer access to safe, high-quality and cost-effective healthcare.

The Coalition is comprised of a diverse array of healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, naturopathic doctors, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, marriage and family therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, advanced practice registered nurses (certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and clinical nurse specialists), foot and ankle surgeons and chiropractors. To view a full list of members and learn more about the Coalition, visit www.patientsrightscoalition.org.

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