State responses to COVID-19: Potential benefits of continuing full practice authority for primary care nurse practitioners

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state governments removed the scope of practice restrictions on nurse practitioners (NPs), allowing them to deliver care to patients without restrictions.

Purpose: To support policy makers' efforts to grant full practice authority to NPs beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, this manuscript summarizes the existing evidence on the benefits of permanently removing state-level scope of practice barriers and outline recommendations for policy, practice, and research.

Methods: We have conducted a thorough review of the existing literature.

Findings: NP full scope of practice improves access and quality of care and leads to better patient outcomes. It also has the potential to reduce health care cost.

Discussion: The changes to support full practice authority enacted to address COVID-19 are temporary. NP full practice authority could be part of a longer-term plan to address healthcare inequities and deficiencies rather than merely a crisis measure.

Keywords: Covid-19; Full practice authority; Nurse practitioner; Primary care; Scope of practice.