Letter: Nurse practitioners provide high-quality, affordable care
The members of the Columbia River Nurse Practitioner Association feel the need to respond on behalf of our profession to Dr. Lucien Megna’s recent ad in the Tri-City Herald.
While we applaud his decision to change his business practice model and provide better patient care, his claim that “your next ‘doctor’s visit’ likely won’t even be with a doctor, but with a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant who receives very little supervision from their supervising doctor, leaving room for medical errors” is disingenuous.
Nurse practitioners in the state of Washington have fully independent practice authority. According to WAC 246-840-300, “state practice and licensure laws authorize NPs to evaluate patients, diagnose, and prescribe medications and therapeutic measures.” There is no requirement for supervision from a doctor. We are defined by Washington state law as primary care providers (RCWA 74.09.010).
A recent issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine showed evidence that advanced practice clinicians — including both nurse practitioners and physician assistants — provide care that is similar to physicians from both cost and effectiveness perspectives.
We want to set the record straight and to correct misinformation provided in the ad. Nurse practitioners are capable of and deliver high-quality, affordable care every day.
Serena Williams, Kennewick, president, Columbia River Nurse Practitioner Association
This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 3:18 AM with the headline "Letter: Nurse practitioners provide high-quality, affordable care."