8 July 2024: Florida Tax Watch published a report last month, titled “Social Determinants of Health, Healthcare Access and Quality”. The report identifies barriers to health care access in Florida, including cost, facility accessibility, insurance coverage, and a physician shortage as contributing factors, with technological advancements presenting a possible partial solution.Among other recommendations in the survey, it recommends expanding the scope of APRN’s. It states, “Other policy changes can make a big difference to health care access in Florida. Expanding the scope of practice for physicians’ assistants and advanced practice registered nurses can help to mitigate the physician shortage.”.
It’s time to allow APRN’s to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training. Granting autonomy to certain APRN’s was a good start, but it has led to many misunderstandings of interpretation of the law. It has also kept many APRN’s from utilizing their training and education to expand offerings to Florida residents. The legislature needs to change this and remove the ambiguity to allow APRN’s to practice unencumbered and without fear.
20 January, 2024: In a letter the editor of the News-Press, an anonymous writer asked why APRN’s are being left out of the Florida Senate’s $900 billion dollar health care legislation, entitled “Live Healthy”. This package of bills is “designed to grow Florida’s health care workforce, increase access, and incentivize innovation.”. The package was passed by the Florida Senate 17 January, in bill 7016. While there are other parts of this package still pending, none of the bills related to it address APRN’s. As the writer states, “The overarching question is why are APRN’s left out of this important part of legislation?”. This is a question the public of Florida should be asking their representatives in both the House and Senate!
20 January, 2024: In an Op Ed piece in The Capitolist, Karla Maldonado, Assistant Program Director of the USF College of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice Nurse Anesthesiology Major, and president of the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, discusses the need to modernize Florida laws to allow Florida licensed Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) to practice to the fullest extent of their licenses. Currently, CRNA’s are not allowed to practice autonomously, and must be supervised by a physician anesthesiologist, unlike those in 43 other states.
