Nurse practitioners as safe as physicians in prescribing medication for older patients, study finds

Researchers at Stanford Medicine have found that nurse practitioners are no more likely than primary care physicians to inappropriately prescribe drugs to older patients — a finding that could be useful for legislators, policymakers and regulators.

Driven by the need to expand access to primary care and curb costs, many states have given more autonomy to nonphysician providers. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia allow nurse practitioners — registered nurses with advanced degrees and higher levels of experience — to prescribe medications without physician supervision.

The study was published Oct. 23 in the Annals of Internal...