An outstanding exception, that might help to reduce medical costs, are nurse practitioners. When you or I go to the doctor, we expect high-quality expertise, but we also want someone to pay attention to our problems, to remember us from one visit to the next, and to follow up on treatment and tests. Nurse practitioners practice under the rules and regulations of the Nurse Practice Act of the state in which they work. Most nurse practitioners are also nationally certified in their specialty area. They are recognized as expert health care providers.
Nurse practitioners do more than direct patient care.
Many nurse practitioners are also actively involved in education, research, and legislative activities to promote quality health care. The impact of the escalation of health-care costs is serious in all areas of the economy. With costs escalating out of control, quality health care is becoming out of reach for many poor and middle-class folks. Often, career decisions are made on the basis of medical insurance rather than life goals. This issue will not go away.