The Nurse Practitioner’s Place

Thanks to NurseJoan for sending me this little tidbit!

Physicians are critical of the concept, calling the sites “convenient-store care” and “retail clinics.”
Dr. Elisabeth L. Righter, president of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, said the emphasis at clinics such as these is on time and money, not safety and quality. She said there should be physician supervision.
“It’s a retail ploy to increase their market share,” she said. “It’s a gimmick to me. It’s a way to get them inside the store to buy more things.”
CVS officials did not return phone calls. MinuteClinic officials said patients can fill prescriptions anywhere.
Tim Maglione, spokesman for the Ohio State Medical Association, said doctors know their patients and will ask more questions.
“What may appear to be trivial can be a very serious health situation, and these clinics are not equipped to handle that,” he said.
But Dr. Jim Woodburn, medical director for MinuteClinic, said no one wants to replace doctors.
“We’ll encourage people to find a doctor and give them a list of clinics in your neighborhood (that) . . . are accepting new patients,” he said.
MinuteClinic has electronic medical records to keep track of visits and can fax copies of records to the patients’ physicians.
Nurse practitioners treat a specific list of minor illnesses and refer patients with serious or chronic conditions to urgentcare centers, hospitals or doctors’ offices.

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I think that part of the problem with this concept is in the naming “Minute Clinic”. It implies fast, shoddy healthcare and gives nurse practitioners who work there the same persona. I think that it will help decompress the ER departments by giving people the option to get a diagnosis for the easy things. I think that people SHOULD NOT use these places as primary healthcare providers. But after hours and on the weekends when the sudden earache or sore throat kicks in.. I might give it a shot. Beats the crap out of sitting in the ER for hours taking up precious resources for trauma patients who truly need their help. Nurse practitioners ask the right questions just like doctors do. I resent the fact that doctors “know their patients” better and that NPs don’t know how to ask important diagnositic questions.. If doctors or NPs don’t ask the right questions, they aren’t qualified professionals. Besides, how many minutes do you actually get at your doctor’s office??? 15??? Point made….

A bill moving through the legislature is causing some controversy between healthcare providers and law enforcement officials.
The bill would allow nurse practitioners to prescribe some controlled substances. While some think patient care would improve, others say it will only increase the drug problem.
Currently, nurse practitioners can only write prescriptions for routine illnesses. The proposed bill would add schedules II-IV controlled substances. There would be restrictions on the prescriptions, including time and refill limits.
Some law enforcement officials think the bill would hurt more than help.
A statement released by Operation UNITE said, “It is difficult enough to enforce existing drug laws without increasing the number of individuals who have authority to prescribe controlled substances… Kentucky does not need another portal for controlled substances… coupled with our current drug problem… Allowing nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled substances would only add to the potential for abuse.”
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Kentucky nurse practitioners are fighting for their rights to prescribe controlled substances for their patients. I find it amusing that an argument against entails the idea that patients will abuse narcotics more if nurse practitioners gain the right to prescribe.
Ever heard of doctor shopping??? Patients will do whatever it takes to maintain a drug abuse habit. It makes no difference whether a nurse pracititioner has the authority to prescribe. We are completely aware of the risk when prescribing medications. We understand that there is a potential for abuse of any medication prescribed. That’s the reason we need prescription databases so we can track abusers of the system. Even with the ability to prescribe narcotics, some nurse practitioners may choose not to do so due to their own comfort levels regarding narcotics. Give us some credit please!!!!

Here’s another interesting article on Indiana nurse practitioners. Enjoy!