NPs are poised to help primary care through the virtue of their education and practice model of continued wellness and health promotion. NPs help organizations reach Best Practice and Health Maintenance standards by organizing care coordination around the whole individual, assuming multiple causes for patient concerns. NPs are able to practice independently with subscribed collaboration. For a practice or organization, the NP is an opportunity for growth of business by bringing in new patients and improving reimbursement. The NP is able to take a new patient load, without overburdening the physicians. A NP can help improve the practice’s reimbursement model by attending to and improving adherence to the prescriptive standards of health maintenance/best practice.

 

         In addition to added business income and improved reimbursement, NPs provide an organization with improved patient-perceived quality. Studies have illustrated that patients perceive the quality of care provided by NPs was better when compared to physicians, stating that NPs take more time, (Stanik-Hutt et al., 2013). Moreover, other studies have shown that NPs are as effective as physicians in providing continued care management and problem resolution, arriving at this with a 20% reduction in the cost of care (Wisher, 2002). Overall, the data and perception supports the value of and NPs include better/faster care access faster, more time is spent with the provider, and more educational information is provided to the patient in regards to overall health and wellness. Generally, NPs are effective first-line providers, cost effective, and provide high quality care with an emphasis on disease prevention and healthcare maintenance (Buppert, “What Is a Nurse Practitioner?”, 2012, pp.1-38).

 

References

Buppert, C. (2012). What is a Nurse Practitioner? In C. Buppert (Ed.), Reimbursement for Nurse Practitioner Services. In Nurse practitioner's business practice and legal guide (4th ed., pp. 1-38). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

 Learning.

Stanik-Hutt, J., Newhouse, R. P., White, K. M., Johantgen, M., Bass, E. B., Zangaro, G., . . . Weiner, J. P. (2013). The Quality and Effectiveness of Care Provided by Nurse Practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 9(8). Retrieved January 30, 2016.

Wisher, M. (2002). The Nurse Practitioner as an Alternative to Quality Care and Cost Effectiveness in Treating People with a Dual Diagnosis. NADD Bulletin, 5(5). Retrieved January 30, 2016, from http://thenadd.org/modal/bulletins/v5n5a2~.html