Health Law Attorney BlogNew York becomes 25th State to grant Nurse Practitioners Full Practice Authority
On April 11th, 2022, New York became one of 25 U.S. states to grant permanent full practice authority to Nurse Practitioners (NP). The 2022 State of the State proposal additionally allows NPs with more than 3,600 hours of experience to practice without a contractual practice-agreement relationship with a doctor.
With full practice authority, nurse practitioners in NY now have full authority to diagnose, prescribe, evaluate, and manage treatments for patients.
Similar to the relaxed regulations on telehealth at the start of the pandemic, NY lawmakers had previously waived regulations on nurse practitioners during the last two years.
The State of State proposal outlines that the older regulations on NPs “stand in the way of nurse practitioners providing the maximum amount of care to New Yorkers.” Similarly, supporters of full practice authority say it allows for nurse practitioners to use their education to its highest level. One of the more outspoken supporters is the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). They advocate that NY has taken a “critical step” to expand their healthcare services. AANP president, April Kapu, even said that NY has gotten rid of “unnecessary and outdated laws limiting the access to healthcare.”
The Health Law Partners has extensive experience assisting with scope of practice issues and mid-level providers. Contact Clinton Mikel, Esq. (cmikel@thehlp.com; (248) 996-8510) or your current Health Law Partners attorney, for additional information or assistance.