Quality care

The Pennsylvania Medical Society strongly disagrees with the assertion that nurse practitioners should practice without physician collaboration simply because their numbers have increased.

The Aug. 20 letter “Embrace the Growth of Nurse Practitioners to Improve Care” cited an increasing NP workforce as justification to support legislation that would allow NPs to practice independently.

This argument falls flat for several reasons.

First, the NP lobby has said for years that collaborative agreements have slowed the growth of NPs in our state. This new data contradicts that assertion.

In fact, a recent analysis by the American Medical Association’s Geographic Mapping Initiative shows states without collaborative agreements actually had slower growth in the number of NPs between 2013- 2018 than states with collaborative agreements.

Second, a 2019 poll of Allegheny County voters found that 70% support physicians and NPs working together through collaborative agreements.

Finally, while NPs deliver excellent care within the physicianled team concept, their skills are not interchangeable with physicians. NP training is less arduous ( 500- 750 hours) than what physicians experience ( 12,000- 16,000 hours). Also, some NP training programs are 100% online.

Pennsylvanians deserve access to the highest- quality care, which should involve physicians and NPs working together.

AMELIA PARE, M. D. Peters

The writer is on the board of trustees for the Pennsylvania Medical Society.