The Future of Nursing Report: Where Are We Now?
By Jennifer Thew RN | March 15, 2019 How much progress has been made in nursing toward the IOM's Future of Nursing recommendations? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Dashboard of indicators reveals where advancement has been accomplished. The year 2010 was monumental in healthcare. Not only was the Affordable Care Act signed into law, but the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) issued its landmark report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The report called for significant changes in nurses' roles, responsibilities, and education to meet the increased demand for care and to make improvements to the healthcare system, and made recommendations in the following categories:
State practice environment The IOM recommended that APRNs be able to work to the full-extent of their education and training. Since the Campaign for Action began, nine states have removed statutory barriers that prevented nurse practitioners from providing care to their full capacity. That means today, 22 states allow NPs to practice to the fullest extent of their training and education. Additional states have made substantial or incremental improvements toward meeting this goal. Plus, in 2017, the Department of Veterans Affairs granted APRNs (with the exception of certified registered nurse anesthetists) full practice authority. NJ MOVES CLOSER TO JOINING MULTI-STATE LICENSING PACT FOR NURSES NJ Spotlight After nearly two decades of debate, New Jersey is a big step closer to joining a consortium that would permit nurses licensed here to practice in 29 other states — and enable nurses in those jurisdictions to treat patients here. National Survey On The Economic Burden and Practice Restrictions Associated with Collaborative Practice AgreementsBrendan Martin, PhD, and Maryann Alexander, PhD, RN, FAAN The U.S. healthcare system is facing workforce shortages in rural and primary care settings. Despite growing demand for providers and comparable quality metrics, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) still face significant barriers to independent practice due to reduced scope of practice regulations. In this study, APRNs working in rural areas and APRN- managed private clinics were one and a half to six times more likely to be assessed Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA) fees, often exceeding $6,000 and up to $50,000 annually. Similarly, APRNs subject to minimum distance requirements, fees to establish a CPA, and supervisor turnover reported a 30% to 59% uptick in restricted care. Such unnecessary regulation risks diverting health services away from and increasing costs in traditionally underserved areas, contributing to inequities in care. It is incumbent on state legislatures to address these disparities and make their constituents’ access to high-quality care a top priority. READ MORE 2019 Nurse License RenewalLicense renewal letters for the 2019 Nurse License Renewal will be mailed on or about March 21, 2019. The license renewal portal will be available on or about April 1, 2019. The late renewal period runs from 6/1/2019 – 6/30/2019. Licensees renewing during that time will be charged a late fee of $50.00. Nurses whose licenses expire on May 31, 2019, and who renew their licenses as "inactive" or select "inactive" in error, hold valid licenses and are eligible to work through May 31, 2019. Facilities may request that such nurses produce their licenses showing their eligibility to work during the period June 1, 2017 through May 31, 2019.Facilities may also contact the Board of Nursing directly at 973-504-6430 for further information. Opioid Continuing Education RequirementPursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:11-26.3 (L.2017, c.28, S.21), as a condition of biennial license renewal, all registered professional nurses and all licensed practical nurses must complete one (1) credit of continuing education concerning prescription opioid drugs, including alternatives to opioids for managing and treating pain, and the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. Out-of-Network BillingOn June 1, 2018, Governor Murphy signed P.L. 2018, c. 32. This law, among other things, restricts out-of-network billing in certain situations; requires providers to notify patients of certain insurance-related information and post a list of standard charges for the provider’s services; mandates that carriers provide certain information to patients; and permits arbitration to resolve disputes between providers, carriers, and patients. |
APN Fact Sheet
| The Maximizing Access to Health Care in New Jersey: The Case for APNs |
Opioid Abuse Prevention
New Jersey is confronting a staggering public health crisis brought about by prescription opioid abuse. On February 15, 2017, P.L. 2017, c. 28, was signed into law, imposing certain restrictions on how opioids and other Schedule II controlled dangerous substances may be prescribed. In response to the new law, the Attorney General and New Jersey's prescribing boards adopted new rules designed to reduce the risk of addiction and the accumulation of opioids in the household medicine cabinets across the State, which are very often diverted for illegal use. Information about those rules, as well as guidance for prescribers and patients on safer pain medication prescribing practices is available here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS For Advance Practice Nurses Licensed by the Board of Nursing. State law makes it unlawful for a prescriber to issue an initial prescription for acute pain for more than a five-day supply. In addition, the dosage authorized by initial prescriptions for acute pain is to be limited to the lowest effective dose of an immediate–release opioid drug. To better understand how to comply with this limitation and other rule changes, the Board offers the following guidance.
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Rules and regulations of the Division of Consumer Affairs, the boards and committees in, and other units of, the Division are codified in Title 13 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, published by LexisNexis. Notices of proposal and notices of adoption are printed in the New Jersey Register, also published by LexisNexis.
The official text of the rules and regulations and their regulatory history and notices of rule proposals and adoptions can be found through the free LexisNexis Public Access Portal.
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