Legislation Removes Barriers to Practice for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, Increases Access to Care for Patients [OH]
Posted almost 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
"Ohio's current laws governing APRNs are outdated and interfere with an APRN's ability to provide needed primary health care, especially to vulnerable populations in medically underserved areas. H.B. 216 is not an expansion of APRN scope-of-practice. Instead, it removes unnecessary regulatory restrictions on APRN practice that create barriers to access, cause delay in treatment, and contribute to health care inefficiency. H.B. 216 highlights include:
-Removal of a mandated, written practice arrangement with a physician
-Removal of physician supervision requirement for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs)
-Modernization of CRNA prescriptive authority
-Removal of a confusing and unnecessary, multi-page (35+ pages) drug formulary
This legislation will modernize current practices and contribute to an expansion in the number of primary care providers in Ohio. Increasingly, states across the country have updated laws to allow APRNs the ability to practice without unnecessary barriers. More than 40 percent of states and the District of Columbia currently allow APRNs to practice without a mandated collaborating or supervising physician, including prescriptive authority. Research has shown that the quality of care with an APRN remains safe and cost-effective."