Cardiology Nurse Practitioner owned practice

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Can a Nurse Practitioner open/own a cardiology practice?

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Specializes in ICU, ER, OR, FNP.

Technically, I can. The problem is getting a consulting physician to sign on. You aren't going to get a Family Practice MD to agree to that. You're also probably not going to get a Cardiologist to agree to that as you'll be competing with a specialist who might like APNs, but isn't going to give you the piece of the pie that pays for new boats, jet skis, etc.

Also recall that you might end up in a bind with schedule drugs depending which state you are practicing. Cardiology gets alot of middle of the night calls from the nurses that "mrs jones is having chest pain and I just gave her 4 of morphine". Some states let you write for Sched III and above, but I don't know of any allowing Sched IIs.

Alot to consider. Good luck and let me know what you find.

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Can a Nurse Practitioner open/own a cardiology practice?

I'm not sure if you are being serious....

In order to be an expert in cardiology, one needs a basic science background (med school) plus 3 years of internal medicine residency and 3 years of cardiology fellowship, just to independently practice cardiology.

Don't get me wrong, APN's serve an important role in the healthcare arena. I'm going to school to become one. But to think of practicing a medicine subspecialty without the background and training of medicine is foolish and is not in the best interest of the patient. An internal medicine doctor, for example, has much more knowledge of the cardiovascular system than most APN's and yet isn't qualified enough to practice cardiology - do you really think it's a good idea for a NP to be doing it? Not to mention the fact that hospitals are not going to credential you and therefore insurance companies won't reimburse you.

Again, APN's are important. But they don't have the knowledge base or training to practice subspecialties of medicine independently. There are only a small amount of APN's that have this attitude, but they give a bad name to the rest of us. If you want to practice medicine, go to med school.

If your family member had a heart issue, would you go to a NP or to a fellowship-trained cardiologist? It really is a no-brainer.

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Technically, I can. The problem is getting a consulting physician to sign on. You aren't going to get a Family Practice MD to agree to that. You're also probably not going to get a Cardiologist to agree to that as you'll be competing with a specialist who might like APNs, but isn't going to give you the piece of the pie that pays for new boats, jet skis, etc.

Also recall that you might end up in a bind with schedule drugs depending which state you are practicing. Cardiology gets alot of middle of the night calls from the nurses that "mrs jones is having chest pain and I just gave her 4 of morphine". Some states let you write for Sched III and above, but I don't know of any allowing Sched IIs.

Alot to consider. Good luck and let me know what you find.

CRF250Xpert,

Pardon my French, but you sound like you have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Please, please tell me that you are some pre-nursing or pre-med student with a crazy imagination!:uhoh3:

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

Respectfully, I'm not sure how well informed the previous posters are. It all depends on the state in which you hope to practice.

If I had a post masters certification in cardiology (I do not) I could open my own cardiology practice in my state, and I wouldn't need a collaborating physician. Technically, I am in independent practice, but I bought a share of a consortium. We share a corporate name and office space, and split the overhead. Base salary depends on years of experience, and NPs, MDs, DOs, all have the same pay schedule. We also all take equal bonuses based on the same productivity schedule, and share profits equally out of the bottom line. I am not aware of any NPs with a solo cardiology practice, but there are quite a few in family practice, women's health, pain management, dermatology and endocrine in my area.

NPs also write for all drug schedules without any co-signature, or what have you, in this state. Simply put, we are recognized by law and by (most of) our colleagues as fully equal and independent providers. We can go into any business we wish. The law also holds us equally liable to our physician colleagues, and opening a practice is extraordinarily expensive, which is why I opted for a consortium.

You would be wise to investigate the laws and practice act in your own state.

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Sure, anybody with the money "can" do anything, can't they. If you won the lottery and for ***** and giggles wanted your own card practice, well then heck yes. I bet you could find an MD who would be your stooge if the price was right.

So, OP. I stand corrected (LOL). Still having a problem with CRF's ridiculous tone.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

I would be curious about what services would be provided in OP's clinic. I could see a wellness cardiology environment where the emphasis is on achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and followup for non-critical and/or chronic conditions. When a cardiologist charges $400 for an office visit... I would utilize a practice for stable care. To do an EKG, bloodwork. adjust meds, etc seems fine to me. Like generic meds, I think they're aceptable. And getting an appt would most likely be easier. Maybe a yearly appt with the cardiologist.

Now if I were to have severe decompensating CHF with poor ejection and valvular issues, I'd have the cardiologist on my speed-dial with a standing appt set-up. It all depends on stability vs instability and approp seervices.

One issue I do think about is how do insurances cover those types of clinic visits. Out of pocket costs/fees may just be too cost prohibitive for many.

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What state do you practice in?

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