New York is the latest state to pass legislation granting nurse practitioners full practice authority after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the state budget into law this week. Healthcare Dive reports.
With full practice authority, NPs in New York will now be able to evaluate, test, diagnose, manage treatments and prescribe medications for patients without having to sign a contract agreement with a supervising physician.
Half the states in the country now grant full practice authority to NPs, according to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
In the same way lawmakers relaxed rules around telehealth at the start of the pandemic to lessen strains on the healthcare system, they also waived some regulations for practicing medical professionals.
Some states waived requirements that NPs must sign a contract agreement with a supervising physician before they can practice, like New York. It’s keeping that rollback permanently, and joining a growing list of states as the healthcare industry faces massive workforce challenges likely to stretch over the next few years.
Massachusetts and Delaware are two other states that opted to make pandemic-related rollbacks for nurse practitioners permanent. Read more.
