Tristin Yeager has the story from the state capital. A State's Task Force held their third round of meetings to revise proposed regulations designed to implement the Managed Care Law. The proposal defines a primary care provider as one who usually supervises patients' medical care by providing services or referrals. Under the current proposal, advanced nurse practitioners as well as gynecologists qualify as primary care providers. The House sponsor of the Managed Care Law, Tim Harlan, says nurse practitioners have become more qualified in the last several years.
Nurse practitioners play an important role in rural medical care.
The increase of capabilities of nurse practitioners in the last fifteen years makes them a valuable resource in providing health care. Advanced nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and interns will be included in the provider-patient ratio used to determine the minimum number of health care providers for an area. While they will not receive the same weight as physicians, the regulations do not require a certain proportion of doctors to other medical personnel.