The nurse practitioner solution

Dear editor,

Advanced registered nurse practitioners can help to stop the suffering of millions of uninsured patients in Florida, but they must be allowed to prescribe controlled substances.
ARNPs can testify that they have had to send patients to emergency rooms on many occasions for common medications such as cough medicine with codeine, seizure medications, medicine to stop diarrhea and simple pain medicine for toothaches.
Many of these patients go to free clinics or community health clinics that are heavily staffed by ARNPs. These patients do not have access to health insurance. They cannot afford to go to the ER to get medications, and they cannot afford to pay for physician visits.
When patients are forced to go to the ER for necessary medical care, costs are driven up and all Floridians wind up paying for these ER visits.
ARNPs are available to immediately meet the needs of our medically underserved and disenfranchised Floridians, and to expand the health care delivery capability of the state.
Allowing ARNPs to practice at their full level of education and clinical training is cost effective, as it adds no costs to our state budget and will have immediate impact on decreasing emergency room visits.
In 2008, the state Senate Committee on Health Regulation interim report concluded ARNPs are skilled nursing professionals with advanced clinical training that prepares them to provide primary-care services.  Giving ARNPs the authority to prescribe controlled substances will enhance the ability of ARNPs to manage their patients’ care and reduce delays and costs for patients in obtaining needed medications.
ARNPs already safely prescribe all other legal medications.
It is time to stop the suffering of millions who are out of work and uninsured. It is time for the Florida Legislature to take its own good advice and join the rest of the country in lifting the ban against ARNPs from prescribing controlled substances.

Andre Ward, RN, Nurse practitioner intern
Chipley