June 9, 2006 – 5:54 p.m.
A coalition of two-dozen health care groups representing nurses, psychologists and other health care providers has urged the American Medical Association and physician groups to stop “divisive” efforts that would hurt the ability of non-physician medical providers to serve patients.
Representatives of the group, called the Coalition for Patients’ Rights, said Thursday that the physician groups are launching a well-financed effort to block state legislative initiatives throughout the country that they consider to be a threat, such as measures that would expand prescription authority for psychologists or reduce the required amount of physician supervision for nurse anesthetists.
Expanding these medical providers’ “scope of practice” could help them receive more financial compensation, which upsets the physicians, coalition members said. “I think ultimately it is about reimbursement,” said Rose Gonzalez, director of government affairs for the American Nurses Association.
The AMA has taken its opposition to the health provider groups’ expansion efforts “to an all new level,” including asking members to commit thousands of dollars to the AMA’s efforts to block the state initiatives, said Mitchell H. Tobin, senior director of professional practice affairs for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, a member of the coalition. The AMA, Tobin said, is “essentially declaring war on providers who are not physicians. ... It is outrageous that the AMA and other physician organizations are attempting to restrict access to our services.”
AMA Board Member Rebecca J. Patchin said that while her group’s members “have great respect for all members of the health care team,” all medical professionals must have “the clinical education and training to provide the service they perform.”
Physicians, Patchin noted in a statement, spend 11 years to 15 years or more beyond high school in medical education to gain expertise. “This in-depth medical training provides physicians with the ability to properly diagnose and treat patients based on their individual needs,” she said.
Coalition member Russ Newman, executive director for professional practice for the American Psychological Association, said allowing appropriately trained psychologists to prescribe medication — as New Mexico, Louisiana and the military have done — has helped thousands of patients get access to medication they need.
In Louisiana alone, Newman said, more than 10,000 prescriptions have been written by psychologists with no problems. “With the ability to prescribe, psychologists have been able to help improve access to needed mental health services, where waiting times to see a psychiatrist can range from several weeks to several months,” he said.