Breaking News: Affordable Care Act Upheld

Breaking news on June 28^th 2012. The Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some will agree and others will disagree about the decision. The decision has been made and as they say “the train has definitely left the station”. Now what? There is a lot of work ahead of us for sure. Here is a scary thought for me. In a previous post I wrote “By 2014, an estimated additional 32 million United States (U.S.) citizens will have access to health insurance, either from a private insurer or Medicaid, regardless of pre-existing conditions”. This represents a significant increase in potential consumers seeking healthcare. I am not convinced that we have the proper infrastructure to properly care for everyone. Do not misinterpret this statement that we should not offer care for everyone. My statement is not meant to be perceived from a political perspective but rather from the eyes of a nursing leader / hospital operator. I urge all nursing leaders to revisit their current model of care to ensure we are up to the challenge ahead of us. As more people will have access care in your respective institution, do we have the right quantity of nurses to meet the demand? Is the current workforce ready and prepared for the increase in demand?

I foresee a greater need to ensure Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are able to practice to the full extent of their education and training. This will require for many States to remove the barriers currently in place. In 2010, The Institute of Medicine offered a report on the Future of Nursing outlining a road map to remove those barriers. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has already done their part by amending one of the conditions of participation allowing APRN’s to be eligible for clinical privileges, and membership of the medical staff. All nursing leaders should educate their respective colleagues to ensure the proper medical bylaws are amended (when needed) to reflect this important change. Now we need to ensure that every State Legislators work at revisiting their respective scope of practice for APRN’s to conform to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Model Nursing Practice Act and Model Nursing Administration Rules (Article XVIII, Chapter 18). We need our APRNs now more then ever and everyone deserve access to the excellent care they deliver.

Dr. Syl