Collaborative Arrangements To Have Central Role In New Nurse Practitioner And Midwife Legislation, Australia

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 06 Nov 2009 - 12:00 PST

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RACGP welcomes news that the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon MP, has support the introduction of collaborative arrangements between nurse practitioners, midwives and medical practitioners.

The amendments proposed to the Midwives and Nurse Practitioners Bill 2009 incorporate a requirement that, in order to access the MBS and PBS schemes, nurse practitioners and midwives will need to enter into a collaborative arrangement with one or more medical practitioners.

"We strongly support strengthening the role for nurses in general practice, including an expanded role for nurse practitioners working in general practice teams to enhance the range and quality of care provided to patients," said Dr Chris Mitchell, RACGP president.

"The inclusion of the requirement for a collaborative arrangement will ensure that patients continue to receive coordinated care whilst accessing a number of health professionals."

"The college welcomes the proposed amendment and believes that collaborative arrangements should include the patient's usual general practitioner.

"The demands of an ageing population and patients with chronic disease or complex care needs require a different approach and as the complexity of health issues increases this will only be achieved through expanded and extended general practice teams - teams which will include general practitioners, practice nurses and nurse practitioners," Dr Mitchell said.

The RACGP is working in partnership with the AMA to develop a model for the collaborative arrangements.

"The college sees the changes to the proposed legislation as a positive step towards building quality, equity and capacity in our primary health system," Dr Mitchell concluded.

Source
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners