Legislation signed by Governor Snyder on Monday gives Advanced Practice Registered Nurses more opportunities.
The new state law expands the medical services Advanced Practice Registered Nurses can provide, without a doctor’s signature
9&10’s Caroline Powers and photojournalist Jeremy Erickson found out what the law will mean for nurses, doctors and patients.
“It opens it up to the patient to really know who is delivering care.”
MaryLee Pakieser has been a registered nurse practitioner since 1995.
A new state law is something she’s been waiting for.
“It allows the nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and clinical nurse specialists to prescribe to the full extent of their licensure, certification and experience and training,” says MaryLee Pakieser MSN, RN, NP at Traverse Health Clinic.
The law allows Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to prescribe more controlled medications and get reimbursement after being clearly define in public health code.
“It eliminates some of the artificial barriers to other things, such as I can now order physical therapy without a physician’s signature. I can order speech therapy without a physician’s signature,” Pakieser says.
Physical therapists say these changes will also help them better serve patients, and grow their relationship with nurse practitioners.
“We do tend to get a lot of referrals from nurse practitioners and we always have to kind of get a doctor to go along with that, so it’ll kind of just expedite the whole situation,” says JJ Carlisle, clinic director at ATI Physical Therapy.
With Traverse Health Clinic being a smaller office, the new law will allow them to better streamline services.
“Some of these barriers really interfered with the efficiency of delivering care to patients, and that’s what our main goal is, to give the best care to patients in the most efficient way possible,” Pakieser says.
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