Take action now against #AB890. Nothing in the bill requires independent nurse practitioners to serve underserved populations or designated underserved regions. CA patients don’t deserve a lower standard of care. As a dermatologic surgeon dedicated to patient safety, I support physician-led health-care teams. Vote #NoOnAB890!Tell #CaLeg #NoAB890 #NoOnAB890: cmadocs.org/ab-890
The physician-led team approach is in the best interest of the patients. While we support the expansion of professionals that makes up the team treating the patient, it is still strongly urged that a qualified physician always lead and supervise the team. Physicians must undergo much more training and residency to qualify them as physicians. Recently, the California Legislature extended physician residency requirements to a three year minimum before the physicians can be eligible for their full licensure. This increase clearly shows that it is important for physicians to be as knowledgeable and experienced as possible in order to best take care of their patients. While nurse practitioners serve a vital role, they simply do not have the same level of training or experience as a physician and thus should always be supervised by the physicians who are held to higher standards, as illustrated by California law.
In addition to the knowledge that a physician can lead a team through, the current physician-led team approach also streamlines the care, improves patient safety and decreases costs. Allowing practitioners to perform procedures they simply aren’t trained to do can only lead to unpredictable outcomes, higher costs and greater fragmentation of care. This bill would instead remove necessary physician supervision, ultimately harming patients and decreasing quality of care. AB 890 attempts to provide a veneer of physician involvement by loosely identifying which circumstances could call for an NP to consult with or refer a patient to a physician or surgeon. However, NPs would not be required to proactively identify a physician or hospital for referral or transfer. Nor would they be required to disclose those details to patients. Without that information, patients will be unable to make informed decisions about their care and could be exposed to large surprise bills for out-of-network care.
Help TODAY to defeat legislation in CA that would allow NPs to practice independently. This bill, AB 890, continues to progress through the CA legislature.
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