Liberating the Nurses
We find that allowing nurse practitioners to operate independently and provide prescriptions on their own is associated with a 2 to 10 percent increase in hourly wages for nurses and as much as a 14 percent increase in earnings for physicians. Our estimates…show that changing licensing to permit more tasks by nurses lowers permitted prices by 3 to 16 percent.
Full research worth reading.
How interesting.
A very impressive paper, but something does not add up. If relaxing licensure increases the incomes of physicians even more than the incomes of nurse practitioners, then why does organized medicine lobby against relaxed licensure?
Perhaps there is an agency problem in medicine: Licensure gives too much power to those who control the profession and not enough to those who practice it?
It also looks like the volume of services goes up, so I’m not sure we can conclude what happens to costs overall.
Has to be an agency problem.
I like this study.
Is there some reason why we have licensing rather than private professional certifica
Having someone with less qualifications do a job results in saving money. You needed to study for this?
A homeless man with a pair of pliers can also pull teeth for cheaper than a dentist.
I’ve heard too many first hand horror stories of botched care by NPs to want to use one. Which is fine, I’m willing to pay a premium. (and yes, MDs can mess up too, but it isn’t as if I can choose something above an MD, can I?).
I’m in agreement with Linda Gorman and John Graham on this one. I like Nurse Practitioners and believe they should be allowed a broader scope of practice. However, I don’t believe the state medical society (i.e. the medical profession) should have the power to decide who practices medicine. I wouldn’t mind them certifying who they believe is viewed to be reputable by their peers, however.
I’ve had only good experiences with my NP. Compared to most MD’s that I’ve visited, she’s thoughtful, kind, attentive, and she always makes sure that I get what I need from my visit. Oh yeah, it’s much much cheaper. Everyone wins. Apparently even the doctors!