"The TMA and the Coalition for Nurses in Advanced Practice appear to have reached a détente in advance of the 2013 legislative session.
"Since 1989, Texas has had a site-based model for advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). More than 20 years created a polyglot of physician oversight regulations—some based on geographical distance, others based on care delivery, and still others based the number of APRNs. The inefficiency of current regulations for both nurses, who have been trained to prescribe independently, and physicians, who sometimes must travel to remote locations, is becoming more intolerable as the state faces increasing shortages of healthcare providers."
The increase in the number of specially trained health care professionals is good for Texans. TMA believes that a physician-led team approach to care, with each member of the health care team providing care based on his or her education and training, is key to ensuring that patients receive high-quality care. Maintaining the integrity of the health care team, under the physician’s overall direction, is good for patient care. TMA strongly supports physician-led teams utilizing a number of health care professionals, each bringing important skill sets and training to patient care. Team care requires cooperation and collaboration among all professionals, with a focus on quality, measureable outcomes, and efficient utilization of resources.
This growth, along with the narrow political interests of a small number of allied health professionals, has spurred calls for Texas to grant them more independent practice. Such an expansion in their scope of practice not only would exacerbate Texas’ physician shortage, it likely would increase costs and utilization, and could endanger the safety of our patients. The Texas Medical Practice Act was created more than 130 years ago to protect Texans from people who called themselves “doctor” but who did not have the skills, training, or education to warrant such a title. The act, administered by TMB, clearly defines the practice of medicine and the educational qualifications necessary to diagnose, independently prescribe, and direct patient care – and to be held accountable for that care.