News & Press

Independent NPs and PAs: A Doc's View

Sun, 2 Feb 2020 22:08:43 GMT

For a century or more, only doctors practiced medicine. This era is over.

Almost hidden in section 5 of the executive order from President Trump on protecting and improving Medicare are two rule changes that upend the current way in which nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician's assistants (PAs) deliver medical care.

According to the nonprofit Practicing Physicians of America (PPA), section 5 will not only eliminate the supervision of NPs and PAs but will also lead to pay parity, or, more accurately, "reimbursement parity." Medicare dollars, and eventually all third-party payments for care, would be leveled across physicians, NPs, and PAs. Read more...

OKBON Nurse Practice Act, with bullet-points for NPs

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 17:21:55 GMT

View the November 2019 Nurse Practice... Read more...

Nurse Practitioners: Improving patient outcomes for opioid use disorder

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 17:14:39 GMT

NP's play a critical role in helping our nation curb the crisis of opioid use disorders. Equipped with graduate degrees and advanced clinical training, NPs diagnose, treat and prescribe medications in over a billion patient visits each year. AANP calls on policymakers to retire outdated laws that stand between patients and the care they need by adopting Full Practice Authority for NPs. More than 130 Americans die from a drug overdose every day. Annually, this is more than the number of Americans that die from car crashes and guns—combined. Read more...

Rural Hospital CEO pushing for Nurse Practitioner bill

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:58:08 GMT

Here's a News9 story that aired on March 20, 2018. Hospitals in rural America are turning to NPs. See video here...

Excessive Oklahoma nursing regs should be eased

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 17:32:56 GMT

OKLAHOMA nurses are once again seeking full practice authority, arguing the state's regulations reduce citizen access to health care treatment and are much more excessive than those imposed in other states. Yet a proposed “compromise” would have made the situation worse. Read more...

The new role of RNs and nurse practitioners

Mon, 22 Jan 2018 18:24:54 GMT

When someone gets pregnant, blows out their knee, or is faced with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, they're likely to search for the best doctor that money -- or at least their health insurance -- can buy. Read More...

AJ GRIFFIN: Lifting burden for nurse practitioners

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 17:57:06 GMT

Rural Oklahoma has always been close to my heart. I grew up on a farm in Adair, and it was the values of a rural community – hard work, honesty, caring for your neighbors – that shaped who I am and led me to public service. Read more...

Oklahoma Senate panel studies payments between advanced nurses, doctors

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 18:09:28 GMT

The Oklahoma Senate's only member who is a doctor said Tuesday he will
consider writing a law that ends payments that some nurses make to doctors for
prescription supervision. Read more...

Advanced Practice nurses fighting for rights

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 00:42:37 GMT

Oklahoma’s advanced practice nurses are once again seeking full practice authority, backing proposed legislation that would remove financial and logistical hurdles to them providing care to Oklahomans who need it the most.
House Bill 1013, by Rep. Josh Cockroft (R-Wanette) and Senate author A.J. Griffin (R-Guthrie), would grant Oklahoma nurse practitioners (NPs) the freedom to practice to the full extent of their education and training, enabling them to serve Oklahomans where care is most needed.
This is especially important in rural areas of the state that are medically underserved. Read more...

Oklahoman Article supports Full Practice

Fri, 10 Feb 2017 23:46:24 GMT

When you call your doctor's office, how long do you have to wait for an appointment? If you live in rural Oklahoma, how far do you drive for even basic health care? The truth is, too many Oklahomans wait too long and drive too far for the care that they need. Read more here...

Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) names new CEO

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 00:15:55 GMT

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) Board offered State Medicaid Director Becky Pasternik-Ikard the Chief Executive Officer position at their Sept. 8 meeting held at the Children's Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethany.

The board met in executive session to discuss the vacancy created by the planned Sept. 30 departure of CEO Nico Gomez. The board later voted unanimously to offer the CEO position to Pasternik-Ikard.

Read the full article here!

VA Proposed Federal Rule Change

Mon, 6 Jun 2016 22:36:08 GMT

On Wednesday, May 25, VA proposed a federal rule change to grant full practice authority to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) when acting within the scope of their VA duties. Full practice authority will help optimize access to VA health care by permitting APRNs to assess, diagnose, prescribe medications and interpret diagnostic tests. This change would increase Veterans’ access to VA health care by allowing APRNs to practice to the fullest extent of their training and license, thereby by increasing the number of fully qualified health care professionals who provide primary care and other services to Veterans.

On Wednesday, June 1, Dr. Shulkin sat down with Lisa Rein of the Washington Post to talk more about the proposed rule and what it means for Veterans, doctors, nurses and VHA as a whole.

Read the full Washington Post article: Top VA doc: If there aren’t enough doctors, have nurses treat our vets

AONP Reports Success in Passage of HB2482

Wed, 4 May 2016 20:02:11 GMT

AONP supported the passage of House Bill 2482 that updates Oklahoma state law, creating a nurse licensure compact, to allow nurse practitioners to provide care across state lines. This adds no expense to a tight state budget and is a commonsense solution to create opportunities for nurse practitioners, with licenses.......Read More

Nurse Practitioners canvas Capitol for full practice authority

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 17:58:03 GMT

Oklahoma is in need of more doctors for patients and Nurse Practitioners say they are willing to step up to the plate. AONP’s NP Day at the Capitol was March 29th. The event received great coverage from Fox News. Click here to view the video.

New study finds NPs more likely than physicians to work in rural areas

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 16:17:17 GMT

New research by Montana State University professor Peter Buerhaus and others has found that nurse practitioners are more likely than medical doctors to practice in rural areas.

The study is published in the January issue of Medical Care, the Journal of the American Public Health Association.

As part of the study, the researchers identified the geographic location of people in the United States who were newly eligible for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. They also identified...read more

Interim Study examines role of NPs in improving access to health care

Wed, 4 Nov 2015 04:48:53 GMT

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Members of the House Public Health Committee will meet tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 4, to study the role that nurse practitioners (NPs) can play in expanding access to primary care for all Oklahomans. Rep. Jon Echols, who requested the study, noted that Oklahoma faces a shortage of primary care providers and said lawmakers must look at creative solutions to address the problem.

The interim study is slated to take place from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. in room 206, at the State Capitol.

Click here to view the press release with more information.

ANPF Scholarships

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:01:21 GMT

The 2015 funding cycle is now open. The American Nurse Practitioner Foundation is proud to announce we are providing $30,000 in education funding. Twelve scholarships at $2,500 each will be awarded. All DNP and NP students who have completed one semester of their program are encouraged to apply. Our education funding opportunities...read more

Defying The AMA, Some Politicians Lower Standards For Practicing Medicine by Leah Binder,

Tue, 4 Aug 2015 14:23:22 GMT

Published by Forbes:

Last week, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed into law a bill that invents a brand new provider, which they call an “assistant physician,” who has not completed the three to four years of residency most physicians do, hasn’t taken all the exams, and will be called “doctor” by patients. The American Medical Association voted overwhelmingly that this kind of provider is not qualified...read more

Nurse Practitioners More In Demand Than Most Physicians by Bruce Japsen

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 18:45:22 GMT

When it comes to what a hospital or health system needs to fill the vacancies in a medical staff, primary care doctors like family physicians and internists have long been the top need.

But climbing the ranks and jumping past many doctor specialties on the demand scale aren’t physicians at all. They’re nurse practitioners….read more

Oklahoma health care providers speak out on proposed SoonerCare cuts

Wed, 27 May 2015 02:15:56 GMT

Oklahoma’s Medicaid agency is practicing “horrible public policy” by recommending that nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other midlevel providers receive less money for the services they provide to SoonerCare patients, a medical professional and board member said Thursday.

Click here to read full article ...

Health Providers: Budget Squeeze Could Shutter Rural Clinics

Wed, 27 May 2015 02:12:05 GMT

A top Oklahoma health official is warning that the budget crunch may force the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to cut payments to mid-level medical providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, which providers say could lead to the closing of rural clinics.

Click here to read full article....

In 10 years, nurse practitioners nearly double in US

Fri, 23 Jan 2015 17:24:00 GMT

Over the last decade, the ranks of licensed nurse practitioners have nearly doubled in the U.S., increasing from 106,000 in 2004 to 205,000 by the end of last year, according to data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

"The explosive growth of the nurse practitioner profession is a public health boon considering our nation's skyrocketing demand for high-quality, accessible care," AANP president Ken Miller, PhD, RN, said in the report. Now the challenge will be to push for federal and state laws allowing nurse practitioners to provide more full, direct primary care, he said in the report.

2015 marks the 50th year nurse practitioner has been a licensed profession.

Click here to read the full article.

Nurse Practitioner among the 25 Best Jobs of 2015

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMT

U.S. News has named Nurse Practioner as the 2nd best job of 2015. The top jobs were determined by salary, work-life balance and expected employment growth.

Click here to read the article.

The Gulf Between Doctors and Nurse Practitioners

Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Not long ago, I attended a meeting on the future of primary care. Most of the physicians in the room knew one another, so the discussion, while serious, remained relaxed.

Toward the end of the hour, one of the physicians who had been mostly silent cleared his throat and raised his hand to speak. The other physicians smiled in acknowledgment as their colleague stood up.

"Nurse practitioners," he said. "Maybe we need more nurse practitioners in primary care."

Why Nurses Need More Authority

Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Think it takes a long time to get an appointment with a primary care provider now? Brace yourself: it will likely only get worse. We're facing a severe shortage of primary care physicians in the nation.