From Center for Nursing Advocacy:
Power, justice, and little white pieces of paper
July 30, 2005 -- Today the
Savannah Morning News posted a story about a local primary care physician now serving an eight month sentence in federal prison, apparently in part for signing blank Schedule II substance prescription refills for nurse practitioner (NP) colleagues to use. Such NP prescription is reportedly unlawful in Georgia but in no other U.S. state. Don Lowery's "A doctor's 'conviction' violates the law" reports that Jack Heneisen wrote the prescriptions so that he and the NPs with whom he practiced at a rural Effingham County clinic could handle their huge patient load. Most of the lengthy piece is a fair discussion of the debate between those who favor greater NP autonomy because of its public health benefits, and physicians who claim that the NPs must be under physician control because they lack sufficient training.
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From Savannah Morning News:A doctor's 'conviction' violates the law
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by Don Lowery Web posted Saturday, July 30, 2005
Allowing advanced nurses to prescribe medication would be a shot in the arm for a variety of ailments, they say.Dr. Jack Heneisen believed he had the best interests of his patients at heart. Georgia disagreed. The Medical Association of Georgia, and at least one member of the legislature, think nurse practitioners should be supervised by doctors.
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