Which legislative issues on the local, state, or national level influence policies

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What trends or issues do you believe to be most important for APRNs with regards to credentialing and licensure?

Nurse Practitioner credentialing and privileging is influenced by federal, state, and local laws. Credentialing is the process an NP goes through to confirm adequate qualifications, licensure, training, and skills in order to provide patient care. It is usually a committee within an institution/organization that completes this process for a new provider joining the team. It is recommended that NPs complete programs that are accredited by a body recognized by the US Department of Education in order to pass credentialing clearance (McMullen & Howie, 2020). When applying for credentials, the NP should gather/prepare their CV/resume, official transcript of APRN schooling, reference letters from professors, employment history, RN license information, copy of DEA license, and copies of any other training/certifications obtained.

What barriers or challenges have slowed the progress of advanced practice registered nursing?

Overly restrictive scope of practice regulations- NP scope of practice can be significantly limited, depending on the supervising physician’s terms.

Reimbursement for NP services- in some states, NP services are reimbursed by Medicaid a portion of what is paid to physicians (Barnes et al.,2016).

Misconception that patient safety is not as high under NP care compared to physicians.

Which legislative issues on the local, state, or national level influence policies related to APRN practice?

Although NPs are nationally certified, their scope of practice varies at the state level. For a time period, NPs were not reimbursed for their services (l1990s).

The passage of the Affordable Care Act allowed states to accelerate the approval of Full Practice Acts for NPs to expand services/access (Brom et al., 2019).

Barnes, H., Maier, C., Sarik, D., Germack, H., AIken, L., & McHugh, M. (2016). Effects of regulation and payment policies on nurse practitioners’ clinical practices. Med Care Res Rev, 74(4), 431-451. doi: 10.1177/1077558716649109

Brom, H., Salsberry, P., & Graham, M. (2019). Leveraging health care reform to accelerate nurse practitioner full practice authority. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract, 30(3), 120-130. doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000023

McMullen, P., & Howie, W. (2020). Credentialing and privileging: A primer for nurse practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16, 91-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2019.10.015