TALLAHASSEE - Today, Florida TaxWatch is excited to share this summary of the 2013 Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) Scope of Practice Summit, held by the Florida TaxWatch Center for Health & Aging. By gathering stakeholders from a diverse group of health sectors, a rich discussion about the role of ARNPs in Florida's healthcare workforce took place.
"Florida TaxWatch supports expanding the scope of practice for advanced registered nurse practitioners, but the details of how that expansion looks still need to be carefully evaluated," said Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch, said in the release. "The 2013 ARNP Scope of Practice Summit was a unique, ground-breaking opportunity for interested stakeholders of diverse backgrounds and opinions to collectively discuss and consider what policy decisions were best, not necessarily for their organizational or personal interests, but for the Florida taxpayers."
In addition to presentations from national and state experts in health care policy, the meeting included a ground-breaking stakeholder panel of distinguished leaders from various health sectors for a discussion on where the scope of practice issue currently stands, what barriers exist in moving the issue forward, and what stakeholders can do to advance progress in policy development.
Groups represented on the panel were: Florida Action Coalition/Center for Nursing, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Association of Nurse Practitioners, Baptist Health South Florida, Florida Blue, the Florida Nurses Association, and the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
"Now is the time for businesses, insurers, hospital systems, and healthcare practitioners to work together for improved access to care and a more efficient, cost-effective Florida healthcare system by maximizing the use of nurse practitioners," said Tamara Y. Demko, J.D., M.P.H., the TaxWatch Center for Health & Aging Executive Director.
The summary of the Summit can be found here.
