1
Administration: P.O. Box 12846 • Austin, TX 78711 • Email: [email protected] • Website: aanp.org Government Affairs: 1400 Crystal Drive, Suite 540 • Arlington, VA 22202 • Email: governmentaff[email protected] Nurse Praconer Prescripve Privilege The American Associaon of Nurse Praconers (AANP) advocates that nurse praconers (NPs) have unrestricted prescripve authority, including dispensing privileges, within their scope of pracce. NPs are independently licensed, advanced pracce registered nurses who have advanced training and educaon that prepare them to work in the NP role. NPs have graduate educaon in pharmacology, pathophysiology, physical assessment and clinical diagnosis and treatment that prepares them to diagnose and prescribe medicaons and treatments. NPs make both independent and coordinated care decisions about the health care needs of individuals, families, and groups across the life span. Five decades of research concludes that NPs provide safe, cost-effecve, high-quality health care. Prescribing medicaons, devices, treatments and modalies is a central component of the NP role and essenal to praconer pracce. Restricons on prescripve authority unnecessarily limit the ability of nurse praconers to provide comprehensive health care services. AANP recommends that NP prescribing authority be solely regulated by state boards of nursing, and in accordance with the NP role, educaon and cerficaon. This process of license and regulaon exclusively by the nursing board promotes public safety and competent pracce. NPs serve as members of state boards of nursing and are competent to appropriately regulate nurse praconer prescribing. AANP advocates that NPs be naonally cerfied. The ability of NPs to prescribe, without restricon, legend and controlled medicaons, devices, health care services, durable medical equipment and other equipment and supplies is essenal to providing cost-effecve, quality health care for the diverse populaons they serve across the life span. Resources: • Instute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health . hp://iom. naonalacademies.org/reports/2010/the-future-of-nursing-leading-change-advancing-health.aspx • Naonal Governors Associaon. The Role of Nurse Praconers in Meeng Increasing Demand for Primary Care . hp://www.nga.org/cms/home/nga-center-for-best-pracces/center-publicaons/page-health- publicaons/col2-content/main-content-list/the-role-of-nurse-praconers.html • Naonal Council of State Boards of Nursing. Consensus Model for APRN Regulaon: Licensure, Accreditaon, Cerficaon & Educaon. hps://www.ncsbn.org/736.htm • Federal Trade Commission. Policy Perspecves: Compeon and the Regulaon of Advanced Pracce Nurses. hp://www.ſtc.gov/policy/reports/policy-reports/commission-and-staff-reports?tle=Nurse © American Associaon of Nurse Praconers, 1992 Revised, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015 Reviewed and Revised by the AANP Fellows at the Winter 2015 Meeng
