California Bill Gives Nurse Practitioners Green Light To Work Independently
Twenty-eight states provide access to primary care by letting nurse practitioners offer services normally reserved for doctors. News is from Missouri, Indianapolis, Maine and Washington, as well.
Sacramento Bee:
New California Law Lets Nurses Work Independently Of Doctors
Gov. Gavin Newsom paved the way for nurse practitioners in California to practice medicine independent of doctors under a bill he signed Tuesday. Newsom’s signature represents the culmination of a fight that has spanned several legislative sessions, pitting doctors groups against those that want to expand nurse practitioners’ ability to treat patients. The measure, Assembly Bill 890, would allow nurse practitioners to practice independently in 2023. Nurse practitioners would have to operate under a doctor’s supervision for a minimum three-year transition period before embarking on their own practices. Current California law requires nurse practitioners, who hold masters or doctorate degrees in nursing and additional certification beyond a regular nursing degree, to always operate under a doctor’s supervision. (Bollag, 9/29)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Missouri Hospital Offering Nurses $20,000 Sign-On Bonuses
Mercy Hospital Springfield (Mo.) is offering nursing up to $20,000 to join its staff, according to Ozarks First. The bonus would apply to registered nurses who become hospital staffers in the next several months. "Whether you're about to graduate in December or you're a nurse who's ready for a new opportunity, our doors are open at Mercy," said Dea Geujen, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer for Mercy Hospital Springfield. (Paavola, 9/30)
Indianapolis Star:
Holcomb Executive Order Extends Licenses For Healthcare Workers
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Wednesday signed an executive order extending the temporary licensing of health care workers who do not currently hold active licenses. Under the order, medical professionals who retired or became inactive in the last five years, as well as those who hold licenses in other states, would be permitted to practice in Indiana for an additional 90 days. (Andrea, 9/30)
Portland Press Herald:
UMaine System Under Fire For Changes To Retirees’ Health Coverage
The University of Maine System expects to save $2.5 million a year through a change in health insurance for retired employees, saying it will expand benefits and provide more flexibility, even though former employees and lawmakers have raised concerns about the switch. In a letter to state lawmakers Wednesday, system Chancellor Dannel Malloy said no UMaine System retiree or their spouse will lose health care benefits as the system prepares to change from a group benefits plan to a Medicare exchange. (Ohm, 9/30)
Kaiser Health News:
To Free Doctors From Computers, Far-Flung Scribes Are Now Taking Notes For Them
Podiatrist Dr. Mark Lewis greets his first patient of the morning in his suburban Seattle exam room and points to a tiny video camera mounted on the right rim of his glasses. “This is my scribe, Jacqueline,” he says. “She can see us and hear us.” Jacqueline is watching the appointment on her computer screen after the sun has set, 8,000 miles away in Mysore, a southern Indian city known for its palaces and jasmine flowers. She copiously documents the details of each visit and enters them into the patient’s electronic health record, or EHR. (Kwon, 10/1)
Also —
NPR:
Web Of 'Wellness' Doctors Push Unproven COVID-19 Treatment
Just as the coronavirus pandemic began its rapid and deadly spread across the United States, a well-known doctor named Dominique Fradin-Read told thousands of viewers tuning into an Instagram Live video that she had an answer, "one of the best ways to prevent and fight COVID-19."It was April 2020. The virus had already killed 50,000 Americans, a number that has since grown to more than 200,000. And scientists were scrambling to find a safe and effective treatment - a search that continues to this day. Dr. Fradin-Read is a prominent figure in the wellness community. She owns the medical practice VitaLifeMD in Los Angeles, and helped formulate the "Madame Ovary" supplement for actor Gwyneth Paltrow's brand Goop. (Dreisbach, 10/1)
Medscape:
Physicians Misjudge a Terminal Patient's Life Span: Is It Fraud?
Can physicians always tell when a patient has less than 6 months to live? And if they misjudge, is that fraud? A registered nurse and three nonclinicians filed a federal False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against Care Alternatives, a for-profit hospice in Cranford, New Jersey, claiming the hospice illegally admitted at least 16 patients who were not in their last 6 months of life and so did not qualify for Medicare hospice coverage. (Meyer, 9/30)
