Legislative Statutes for Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners, usually acting under the guidance of physicians, are licensed by the state in which they practice to provide a wide range of health care services. NPs are master's degree level nurses who are authorized to provide more extensive diagnosis and treatment than registered nurses, but each state provides legislative guidance as to the extent of their authority.

Writing Prescriptions

• Nurse practitioners are authorized to prescribe medications across the board, but each state monitors and limits that authority to a different degree. In many states, it is required that a prescription bearing the signature and identification of a nurse practitioner also carry the name of the collaborating physician who oversees the practice. Many states regulate nurse practitioners when it comes to prescriptions of controlled substances or certain other drugs. The state of New Jersey provides prescription paperwork, bearing the seal of the state, that must be used for each prescription written by a nurse practitioner in that state.

Hospital Privileges

• State legislatures have enacted laws that provide hospital privileges to nurse practitioners at different levels of access. In general, the statutes allow nurse practitioners to provide medical care in doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals, subject to the rules and by-laws of the facility at which they are providing services. Many states require collaboration with a physician before a patient can be admitted into the hospital and also mandate that the nurse practitioner be subjected to oversight and review by staff doctors at the hospital being used for services. The laws of the state of Oregon, as one example, address these issues in significant detail.

Insurance Coverage

• States address the issue of payment for services rendered when those services are provided by a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor. The statutes generally state that when a nurse practitioner is involved in patient care for which she is authorized by statute, and which she is licensed to provide, insurance companies are obligated to pay for those services.

Health Services

• State legislatures have also dealt with the authority of nurse practitioners to perform physicals and home health services for patients. Some states do not recognize the role of nurse practitioners in these areas, but others have cleared them to do so by way of state law. Florida passed laws authorizing both as recently as 2005.