Nurse practitioners, the mainstays of retail clinics, have the potential to save the U.S. healthcare system $472 million annually if allowed to practice independently, according to research supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative.
Researchers compared claims data for approximately 9,500 patients at retail and nonretail clinics between 2004 and 2007. In some states, nurse practitioners are allowed to practice independently, and in other states, they are allowed to practice and prescribe independently. In the remaining states, nurse practitioners must have a collaborative agreement with a physician in order to practice — they cannot practice "independently."
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Insurance spending was lowest in states allowing nurse practitioners to practice, at $484 dollars per patient per visit. The fee in states allowing nurse practitioners to practice and prescribe was $509 dollars. For nonretail clinic visits the fee was $704.
Based on the current number of retail clinics (1,200) and the projected proportion of 2015 outpatient primary care visits (10 percent), study authors determined retail clinics will save the healthcare system $2.2 million. If all states allowed nurse practitioners to practice independently, the savings could be increased to $810 million. Independently practicing and prescribing nurses could save the system $472 million.
The study concluded allowing nurse practitioners to practice to the full extent of their abilities and training could have a beneficial effect on cost savings in healthcare.
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