Some groups representing doctors are resisting similar efforts to allow nurse practitioners to, for example, write prescriptions and admit patients to the hospital. But many believe the trend is unstoppable.
"Health care is not a zero-sum game where there’s a limited amount of care to be given," said Polly Bednash, the head of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. "If there’s more care needed than we can deliver in the world, we have to decide who else can provide quality care."
A Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) is a geographic area or population group with too few health care providers to serve people’s medical needs. Under federal guidelines, there should be no more than 3,500 people for every one primary care provider; no more than 5,000 people for every one dental provider; and no more than 30,000 people for every one mental health care provider. The graphs below show the percentage of the population in each state that lives in an HPSA.
Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.
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