Interprofessional Teams

"The nation’s health probably would improve if primary care and public health were better integrated, says an Institute of Medicine report."

"Six national health professions associations have formally joined to create the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), a new national organization that will focus on better integrating and coordinating the education of nurses, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, public health professionals, and other members of the patient health care team to provide more collaborative and patient-centered care."

"Ohio plans to spend $1 million to expand an approach to primary care that encourages the family doctor to better coordinate with specialists and others to improve a patient's health, state health officials said Wednesday."

"The residency collaborative is part of Pennsylvania Improving Performance in Practice, or PA IPIP, a program of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Coalition. In addition to the Pennsylvania AFP, the coalition includes the Pennsylvania chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians. The collaborative's twin goals are to improve care at residency program clinics and prepare residents to work in patient-centered medical homes, or PCMHs."

"Earlier this year, James F. Cawley, MPH, PA-C, was honored with the Eugene A. Stead lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Physician Assistants for his unremitting efforts to increase understanding of the phyisican assistant role in the U.S. healthcare workforce. To celebrate his achievements, we've collected a few of our favorite of Jim's columns from the nearly 8 years he's been writing for us, both since the debut of ADVANCE for NPs & PAs in September 2010 and in our predecessor, ADVANCE for Physician Assistants, since January 2004."

"On Sept. 1, most of the legislation passed during the 82nd Texas Legislative Session became law. What you will not see is a measure creating access to primary health care for millions of Texans. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are willing and able to bridge the gap between the growing demand and shrinking supply of primary care providers in Texas. However, outdated laws and an ongoing turf war prohibit us from serving as full primary care providers."

"The Joint Committee on Public Health voted unanimously in favor of “An act supporting the practice of primary care in the commonwealth.” Sponsored by Representative Jeffrey Sánchez, co-chair of the Committee, the bill eases statutory burdens to maximize the role of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in order to improve access to care for patients and free up physicians’ time for complicated cases requiring their expertise."

"The nation faces a substantial shortfall in its combined supply of physicians, APNs, and PAs, even under aggressive training scenarios, and deeper shortages if these scenarios are not achieved. Efforts must be made to expand the output of clinicians in all 3 disciplines, while also strengthening the infrastructure of clinical practice and facilitating the delegation of tasks to a broadened spectrum of caregivers in new models of care."

"Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Federally Qualified Health Center Advanced Primary Care Practice (FQHC APCP) demonstration project, a new Affordable Care Act initiative that will pay an estimated $42 million over three years to up to 500 FQHCs to coordinate care for Medicare patients."