Many nurse practitioners cannot provide medications to treat opioid addiction

(University of California - San Francisco) At least six states with high opioid abuse rates also have strong work restrictions that hinder nurse practitioners (NPs) in prescribing medication that can help treat the problem, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco. These states, and others with restrictive scopes of practice for NPs, should reform their regulations to take full advantage of the health care workforce in addressing the opioid crisis and meeting primary care needs, the researchers said. Their study appears April 9, 2019, in JAMA.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science http://bit.ly/2UMMfZO