Policy Issues

The Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State and NPALI, as well as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners have identified a number of current health policy issues, including increasing reimbursement for nurse practitioners, expanding scope of practice, eliminating the requirement of a physicians signature for orders written by nurse practitioners, and expanding access to primary care services (Park et al., 2020). I will communicate with an elected official by writing an email advocating for my profession and patients. Email is a convenient and easy way to provide resources and statistics to back up my arguments, making it easier for my target to understand why advocating for health policy changes related to nurse practitioners is essential (Ishii et al., 2019). Additionally, email allows me to reach out and for others to respond without having to take time away from my job or other commitments.

I will communicate with Senator Charles Schumer, who is the senior United States Senator from New York, and is one of the most influential voices in health policy decisions. He is also well-versed in health care issues, and has already championed a number of initiatives to improve access to health care for his constituents. He is an ideal target for advocating for nurse practitioners and their patients in New York State.

I will outline my main points in the email, including why increasing reimbursement for nurse practitioners is important, why expanding scope of practice should be allowed, and why eliminating the requirement of a physicians signature for orders written by nurse practitioners is necessary. I will also explain the importance of expanding access to primary care services and how it would improve the quality of care for patients. Finally, I will provide resources and statistics to back up my arguments and demonstrate why advocating for health policy changes related to nurse practitioners is essential.

References

Ishii, K., Lyons, M. M., & Carr, S. A. (2019). Revisiting media richness theory for today and

future.Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies,1(2), 124-131.

Park, J., Han, X., & Pittman, P. (2020). Does expanded state scope of practice for nurse

practitioners and physician assistants increase primary care utilization in community health centers?.Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners,32(6), 447-458.