The non-profit organization is advocating for
patient safety amid concerns over nurse practitioner training and
patient outcomes
NEW
YORK, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 2018,
Physicians for Patient Protection, a non-profit ensuring
physician-led care for all patients, has been vocal about the
risks of replacing physicians with non-physician practitioners,
especially considering the declining state of nurse practitioner
(NP) education in the United
States.
Despite sharing stories of patient harm and data showing the
lower quality and increased cost of care of physician replacements,
the non-profit organization has been disappointed by the lack of
attention in this important patient safety issue. Doctors
advocating to ensure that patients have access to physician-led
care have been mischaracterized as misogynistic and elitist, often
by those profiting from NP education and practice, in an attempt to
drown out the real stories of patient injuries. Disregarding the
abysmal shortcomings of the research methodology, "half a century
of research" regarding NP care was, and continues to be, falsely
and deceptively presented as dogmatic truth.
"We believe that patients deserve access to physician-led care
and have the right to understand who is providing their care," said
Carmen Kavali, MD, President of
Physicians for Patient Protection. "The work that Physicians for
Patient Protection is doing is an important step in educating
patients so that they can make informed decisions about their
healthcare. We look forward to more attention on this important
subject."
In the last 25 years, the number of nurse practitioners has
quadrupled, growing from 80,000 in 2000 to over 380,000 today,
while the number of physicians has increased by just 3%. Standards
for nurse practitioner program entry and training quality have
declined, with 69% of all family nurse practitioner students
attending completely or mostly online training, and 22% attending
direct entry programs, which allows non-nurses to become nurse
practitioners in as few as 15 months.
Despite having about 5% of the training of physicians, nurse
practitioners are legally allowed to care for patients without
physician supervision in half the states of the country and in all
Veterans Administration facilities. Studies show that nurse
practitioner care can be safe and effective when managing
lower-risk conditions under physician supervision. However, no
conclusive evidence exists that non-physician practitioners can
provide safe and effective medical care without physician
oversight. Recent studies have shown the opposite: that the
replacement of physicians puts patients at risk for worse outcomes
at higher costs.
Physicians for Patient Protection has an extensive network of
experts on this topic including physicians, patients, attorneys,
nurses, and other clinicians available for comment on this subject.
To learn about the organization's advocacy work, please visit
www.physiciansforpatientprotection.org.
About Physicians for Patient Protection
(PPP)
Physicians for Patient Protection is a 501c3
organization. Our mission is to ensure physician-led care for all
patients and to advocate for truth and transparency regarding
healthcare practitioners. Learn more at
www.physiciansforpatientprotection.org.
Media Contact:
5W Public Relations
PPP@5wpr.com
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SOURCE Physicians For Patient Protection