Illinois bill to remove physician supervision... write your congressmen...

[criticalelement]

PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND URGE HIM OR HER TO VOTE NO ON HOUSE BILL 421 INDEPENDENT PRACTICE OF ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSES
The Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing has introduced and is lobbying for House Bill 421, which would remove the requirement that nurses practicing outside of a hospital or ASTC maintain a collaborative agreement with a physician. The bill would also remove the requirement that certified nurse anesthetists enter into an anesthesia plan with a supervising anesthesiologist.

• This bill would allow advanced practice nurses to provide the same medical services as anesthesiologists, pain management physicians, family physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians, and other specialists without requiring equivalent education and training standards that physicians are required by law to complete -- all completely independent of any physician collaboration.
• Under their bill, APNs gain full prescriptive authority, including schedule II drugs like opioids, as well as authority to provide anesthesia services, obstetrical care, and chronic and severe disease management, all independent of physician collaboration. This is not in the best interest of patients, particularly those who suffer from multiple medical conditions or require specialty care.
• Allowing non-physician practitioners to expand their scope of practice through legislation rather than through education and training is not good public policy for improving patient access to quality care.
• APNs will argue that they are adequately educated and trained to practice medicine independent of physicians.
  • Medical education and training requirements exist for a reason, to ensure that the patient is properly treated.
  • The differences in education and training between a physician and an APN are significant.
  • New physicians have seven or more years of post-graduate education and more than 10,000 hours of clinical experience. Most APNs have just two to three years post-graduate training and less clinical experience than is obtained in the first year of a two-year medical residency that physicians must complete before they are allowed to practice independently.
• APNs will argue that they can fill a health care void in areas that suffer from physician shortages.
  • This is not true. Research shows that in states where nurses practice independently, physicians and nurses continue to work in the same areas. Allowing the independent practice of APNs will not help solve the problem of health professional shortages in rural areas.

ISMS physicians are committed to ensuring that care is centered on each patient's needs and that each patient receives high-quality care by a well-trained team of professionals supervised by a physician.
State legislators are in the district offices for the next week (Feb. 5-13). Please take this time to contact them and urge your state representative to vote no on efforts to weaken standards which exist to protect patient safety and oppose HB 421 that would allow independent practice for APNs.

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