As the nation continues to battle a physician shortage, Mississippi lawmakers are looking to create more healthcare options in one of the poorest and sickest states.
Legislation passed in the House of Representatives that would allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to operate independently and create a new category of licensed anesthesiologist assistants. HB 849, which was met with bipartisan support and dissent, creates an avenue for APRNs including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives, to act inside the boundaries of their expertise without first consulting a doctor.
Recent estimates found that Mississippi has 5,857 active physicians and nearly 9,000 APRNs. According to research from the American Medical Association, 83 million Americans live in areas that don’t have sufficient access to a primary care physician. Those issues are further exacerbated in a rural state like Mississippi where a bulk of the state’s women have grave difficulty finding an obstetrician during pregnancy.
In an attempt to further access to care, Republican Rep. Sam Creekmore, who oversees the House’s Public Health and Human Services committee, authored the bill to allow APRNs to sever a currently mandated collaborative relationship with a physician after completing 8,000 hours on the job.
“Over the years, physicians have led the way in advancing healthcare in Mississippi, improving patient outcomes, and shaping a system that delivers high-quality, evidence-based medicine,” Creekmore said. “However, as patient demand continues to rise, particularly in primary care, anesthesia, and chronic disease management, the healthcare model must evolve to ensure Mississippians receive timely and effective care.”
The lack of physicians to meet the needs of rural and underserved communities is especially burdensome in the Magnolia State with some doctors having to routinely bounce from one hospital to another to tend to patients. Rural physician scholarships are available for medical students attending the University of Mississippi Medical Center and William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine to add to the future workforce.
Nonetheless, quality healthcare providers are needed now, and Creekmore contends that long-tenured APRNs are perfectly capable of treating patients without physician oversight. These nurse
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