Impt Please Read

Nitecap · Jun 14, 2006

Healthcare Professionals Urge Cooperative Patient Care;

Oppose SOPP & AMA Resolution 814

The undersigned organizations represent a wide variety of more than 3 million healthcare professionals, providing a diverse array of safe, effective and affordable services. We are united in declaring that the Scope of Practice Partnership (SOPP) that various physician organizations have formed, as well as American Medical Association (AMA) Resolution 814, are unnecessary actions that will impede, rather than enhance, patient access to quality care. We call upon the SOPP member organizations to cease their divisive efforts and, instead, work with us to advance the health and well-being of patients. It is inappropriate for physician organizations to advise consumers, legislators, regulators, policy makers or payers regarding the scope of practice of licensed healthcare professionals whose practice is authorized in statutes other than medical practice acts. The erroneous assumption that physician organizations should determine what is best for other licensed healthcare professionals is an outdated line of thinking that does not serve today's patients.

The SOPP is a coalition that the AMA formed to assist various physician organizations facing scope of practice "battles." The SOPP also plans to fund studies a) determining whether "allied health professionals" truly fill healthcare voids in rural and other underserved areas; and b) examining the education and training of "allied health professionals" with the goal of providing this information as a "point of comparison" to legislators.

In a related action, at its November 2005 Interim Meeting, the AMA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 814, titled, "Limited Licensure Health Care Provider Training and Certification Standards." The resolution states:

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association, along with the Scope of Practice Partnership and interested Federation1 partners, study the qualifications, education, academic requirements, licensure, certification, independent governance, ethical standards, disciplinary processes, and peer review of the limited licensure health care providers, and limited independent practitioners, as identified by the Scope of Practice Partnership and report back at the 2006 Annual Meeting.2

Regarding the SOPP and Resolution 814, we state:

Patient Safety

Our organizations set the highest standards for patient safety, and numerous studies demonstrate that our members provide safe, high quality care. Neither the SOPP nor Resolution 814 cite any credible evidence that the scopes of practice of our members are unsafe, problematic, or warrant special scrutiny or study. To the contrary, our members are filling a vital need in this country. With shortages in various areas of healthcare, and more than 45 million uninsured Americans, our members are the solution to this country's healthcare challenges, not the problem. Some physician organizations have characterized our efforts to enhance our scopes of practice as a "threat." Far from that, with America's population aging, we are the answer to the challenge of keeping pace with the demand for quality healthcare services. Now is the time to encourage the increased use of all available healthcare professionals to meet the growing demand for affordable, high quality care.

Balanced Study

Physician organizations are not in the best or most objective position to conduct a balanced and fair assessment of education and training standards for other licensed healthcare professions. A balanced study of healthcare professions would include an evaluation of physician scope of practice and consider whether physician scope of practice is overbroad. Such a study would also assess whether state laws and regulations governing physician practice contain outdated language that should be eliminated so that the unique skills of licensed healthcare professionals who do not hold a medical license are recognized. The study would also evaluate the implications of current state laws that allow physicians to practice in any specialty, regardless of individual qualifications to do so.

AMA Resolutions Unwarranted/Need for Cooperation Instead

In the past decade, the AMA has adopted at least seven resolutions concerning one or more of the undersigned professions that, if implemented, would restrict our practice and impede patient access to care. The resolutions have been widely ignored. The SOPP appears to signal a renewed effort, buttressed by substantial expenditures, to restrict the practice of healthcare professionals who are not physicians. It is time for the AMA and other SOPP member organizations to recognize that our members have long demonstrated that they provide high quality, safe care and do not warrant the singular and extraordinary scrutiny that the SOPP and Resolution 814 seem to contemplate. There is more than enough room - and need - for all of us. We need to work together, all of us contributing our respective expertise. This occurs every day in clinical settings, with the many different types of healthcare professionals who we represent cooperating with primary care physicians and various physician specialists. Rather than endlessly attempting to keep healthcare professionals who are not physicians from practicing to their full capability, it's time for SOPP member organizations to join us in advancing a more productive agenda. The winners will be patients.

Healthcare Access

It is ironic that the SOPP seeks to study whether healthcare professionals other than physicians "truly" fill healthcare voids in rural and other underserved areas. It has long been amply demonstrated that if it weren't for healthcare professionals other than physicians, millions of patients in rural and underserved areas would not have access to needed services. The SOPP seems to imply that healthcare professionals other than physicians aren't necessary unless physicians aren't available. This ignores the value and effectiveness of our members, regardless of whether an area is urban or rural. We call upon the AMA and other SOPP members to join us in finding solutions to America's healthcare problems rather than wasting resources to "study" healthcare professionals who are safe and qualified.

Terminology

Terms such as "allied health practitioner," "limited licensure health care provider," or "non-physician" reflect an anachronistic view of healthcare professionals who are not physicians. Our members are not physician adjuncts, and are independently responsible for their actions, regardless of whether physicians are involved.

Summary

We ask the SOPP member organizations to cease their divisive efforts, and work with us to improve access to a wide variety of healthcare professionals who deliver affordable, effective healthcare to patients.

References

1 The "Federation of Medicine" include the AMA, organizations with voting representation in the AMA's House of Delegates, and the component socieities (e.g., state medical societies) that work with each other to pursue common goals.

2 The AMA's Annual Meeting will occur June 10-14, 2006 in Chicago.

Organizations United in Support of This Statement

June 8, 2006

Organizations

American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

(AACN - Colleges BSN/Higher Education)

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN - Critical Care)

American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)

American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP)

American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA)

American Nurses Association (ANA)

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)

American Psychological Association (APA)

American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA)

American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN)

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)

Emergency Nurses Association (ENA)

National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS)

National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)

National League for Nursing (NLN)

National Nursing Centers Consortium (NNCC)

National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF)

National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH)

Oncology Nursing Society (ONS)

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA)

Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN)

Nitecap · Jun 14, 2006

Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR)

Calls on AMA to Cease Divisive Efforts to Limit

Patients' Choice of Providers

24 healthcare organizations* unite to ensure patients a full range of

healthcare provider options and the right to choose among them

Washington, DC - In response to divisive efforts by the American Medical Association (AMA) and other physician groups to limit the ability of licensed healthcare professionals to provide care to millions of patients, the newly formed Coalition for Patients' Rights (CPR) today urged all healthcare professionals to work together to counter the AMA's actions.

The CPR was formed to ensure that the growing needs of the American health system can be met and that patients have access to quality healthcare providers of their choice. The coalition represents more than 3 million licensed professionals who provide a diverse array of safe, effective and affordable healthcare services.

In a joint statement endorsed by the 24 healthcare groups* that comprise the coalition, the CPR expressed concern about the negative impact on patients if their ability to seek care from advanced practice nurses, psychologists, nurse midwives, chiropractors, and many other licensed, qualified healthcare providers is limited. The coalition is calling on the AMA and other physician groups aligned with the AMA to cease their divisive efforts to oppose the established practice rights of CPR members. The coalition also seeks an end to legislation at the state level that would reduce provider options for patients.

The CPR is especially concerned about efforts by the AMA and other physician groups that have formed the "Scope of Practice Partnership" to study the work and qualifications of "allied health professionals" in rural and underserved areas.

"Limiting the ability of healthcare professionals to practice and provide appropriate care will place an enormous burden on the healthcare system," remarked Barbara Blakeney, MS, RN, President of the American Nurses Association, which is a member of the coalition. "As leaders of the health community, this coalition seeks to maintain the broadest range of provider choices for everyone," said Blakeney.

The coalition questions the objectives of the AMA and other physician organizations when they seek to advise consumers, regulators, policymakers and insurers on the ability of other healthcare professionals to offer the services they are allowed by law to provide. Healthcare providers are a critical source of care for patients throughout the United States, especially those who live in rural areas and medically underserved urban areas. Historically, people who live in rural areas have relied on a strong array of practitioners to meet their healthcare needs. Advanced practice registered nurses, social workers, and other professions that require rigorous educational preparation and ongoing instruction and certification are the backbone of not just the rural healthcare system, but the entire healthcare structure in the United States.

"Organizations representing medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of osteopathy (DOs) are not in the best position to conduct a balanced and fair assessment of an issue that directly affects their reimbursement," said Mitchell H. Tobin, JD, Senior Director of Professional Practice Affairs for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, also a member of the coalition.

The coalition asserts that the AMA's actions affect the entire healthcare community and all current and potential patients.

"Healthcare professionals other than MDs and DOs have been key to assuring access to care for millions of patients in rural and underserved areas. Given the difficulty that so many people have in getting needed care, now is the time for all healthcare professions to work together, not to work against each other to meet the need," said Dr. Russ Newman, Executive Director for Professional Practice for the American Psychological Association.

The Coalition for Patients' Rights is continuing to expand and invites other healthcare organizations to join. For more information about the Coalition for Patients' Rights, please visit http://www.patientsrightsnow.org.