Peer Reply

Healthcare provider shortage is a real problem faced by the nation which was exacerbated by implementation of the Affordable Care Act. So, having more providers will definitely impact the quality of patient care highly positively. The quality of patient care will improve when more skilled primary care providers, nurse practitioners (NP’s), focused on disease prevention will have the full scope of practice. Also, since NP’s have a different angle and approach to patient care, patients will enjoy a different experience with them. The difference lies within how the patient is treated. NP’s are educated in holistic care, focusing on wellness and disease prevention but not all physicians treat patients in that manner (Tracy & O’Grady, 2019). NPs are touted by the nursing profession as less expensive, same quality providers that are able to increase access to the uninsured by charging lower fees (Tracy & O’Grady, 2019). Also, there are a few studies that have shown that patient readmission rates and hospital usage are lower with medical doctors (Nickitas, Middaugh, & Aries, 2016). On the contrary, studies demonstrate that NP’s improve patient outcomes on the units they serve (Nickitas et al., 2016).

References

Tracy, M. F., & O’Grady, E. T. (2019). Hamric and Hanson’s advanced practice nursing: An integrative approach (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Nickitas, D., Middaugh, D., & Aries, N. (2016). Policy and Politics for Nurses and other Health Professionals: Advocacy and Action. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.