Nurse Practitioner Study Highlights Health Inefficiencies, Australia

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 04 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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A new study released this week on nurse practitioners has reinforced the importance of the role in improving access to health care, the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) said.

The findings of the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded Queensland University of Technology (QUT) study reinforced calls from the ANF for funding reforms to allow uniform prescribing and referral rights for nurse practitioners.

Ged Kearney, ANF Acting Federal Secretary said, "The QUT report supports what we already know: that nurse practitioners are being under utilised because of barriers created by current funding mechanisms."

"While nurse practitioners are authorised to refer to other health professionals and prescribe some medications, there is currently no mechanism that allows their patients to claim any subsidy from the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), as these are limited to medical practitioners.

"Expansion of the role of these expert clinicians requires patient access to reimbursement from PBS and Medicare," Ms Kearney said.

The federal government has placed an emphasis on improving patient access to health care and reducing waiting lists. Considerable evidence demonstrates that nurse practitioners not only improve access to a wide range of health services but provide quality, safe and effective care.

Improving quality of and accessibility to health care services for people in rural and remote Australia is another area where the nurse practitioner role could be further developed.

More than 230 nurse practitioners already work across the health system nationally, delivering expert clinical care in a range of health settings.

"This government has demonstrated an appetite for tackling health reform; the time is now right to better utilise the expertise of these skilled practitioners, enabling greater access to and equity within the public health system," Ms Kearney said.

The ANF budget submission outlines the case for uniform prescribing and referral rights for nurse practitioners.

Click here to view the ANF budget submission | Click here for information on the QUT study.

The ANF, representing 150,000 members, is the professional and industrial voice for nurses and midwives in Australia.

Australian Nursing Federation

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