Becker's Healthcare July 17, 2019
Nurse practitioners can solve the issue of limited healthcare access in the U.S., wrote Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, in an op-ed for The Hill.
The country will be short over 120,000 primary care physicians by 2030, Dr. Thomas wrote. In contrast, the number of NPs is expected to grow by 6.8 percent every year between 2016 and 2030. NP care is associated with decreased hospitalizations and readmissions and improved health outcomes, Dr. Thomas wrote, making NPs “an under-utilized asset.”
NPs in all 50 states can assess patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, develop treatment plans and prescribe medications,...