week 13 response 2023 |

Reply Posts

Reply to two of your classmates, either classmates from different states or classmates who identify a different political issue from what you identified.

Please refer to the Grading Rubric for details on how this activity will be graded. The grading for the number of reply posts is based on individual Discussion Board instructions. If the rubric indicates a different number for reply posts, you will not be graded down, as long as you have followed the reply post instructions.

For this assignment to be considered complete, you must post your initial response and address all prompts related to the APRN Political Action State Initiatives by Day 3. In addition, you must reply to two classmates from different states or classmates who focused on an issue different than your own by Day 7.

Response 1 to Lau

The national health initiative I want to discuss has to do with telehealth and continuing to expand patient access for mental health services. Congress passed H.R. 432 to improve mental health access by increasing Medicare reimbursement (Congress.gov, 2021).  The next issue that dove tails to this policy is the ability to be reimbursed for telehealth services. When COVID 19 hit the field changed and telehealth was the new platform to address continuation of care. This platform allowed providers to continue to treat patients while maintaining the goal of preventing the spread of COVID 19. Telehealth for psychiatric services allowed providers to conduct evaluations, provide therapy (individual, group, and family), provide patient education, and prescribe pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management. The DEA is proposing an extension for telehealth services including writing Schedule III-V non-narcotic controlled medications and buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (DEA, 2023). This will impact my field as PMHNP as it states we can prescribe these medications and through telehealth. Telehealth services specifically for psychiatric care increases accessibility for this population and includes vulnerable and rural populations (Duncan, Serafica, Williams, Kuron & Rogne, 2020). The role of the PMHNP is to continue to follow these initiatives in order to support them and keep them in place so we can continue to provide safe and cost-effective care. APRNs have to advocate for our profession in order to change policies which result in improved patient care. I am hoping psychiatric telehealth services continue to be allowed as this expands services and makes it possible to treat more patients. There is also the advantage of privacy so the patients can be seen from the privacy of their home which takes away the stigmatization of seeking psychiatric mental health services. I will definitely be following this health initiative as the DEA is looking at changing this to require in-person visits for Schedule III-V non-narcotic controlled medications which would impact psychiatric telehealth (DEA, 2023). In my clinicals my preceptor has several patients that live greater than 10 miles away so requiring them to come in for prescriptions like Adderall once a month would make a huge impact on her practice.             

References

Congress.Gov. (2021, January 21). H.R.432 – mental health access improvement act of 2021. Congress.gov.

Duncan, C., Serafica, R., Williams, D., Kuron, M., & Rogne, A. (2020). Telepsychiatry during the covid-19 pandemic. The Nurse Practitioner, 45(12), 6–9. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.npr.0000722356.37937.9a

United States Drug Enforcement Administration. (2023, February 24). Dea announces proposed rules for permanent telemedicine flexibilities. DEA. https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2023/02/24/dea-announces-proposed-rules-permanent-telemedicine-flexibilities

Response 2 Kaitlin

In the state I currently live in and plan on practicing there is the Wisconsin Nurse Practitioner Network as well as the Wisconsin Nurses Association. From that there is the Wisconsin APRN Coalition which was formed to provide an efficient and effective method and process for assuring the passage of The APRN Modernization Act (WI APRN Coalition, 2018). The APRN Coalition wants to demonstrate to legislators that there are 4,360 APRNs practicing in Wisconsin who desire a clearer and more defined practice in Chapter 441 of the nursing statutes that support patient access, and safety (APRN Modernization act, 2023). One aspect of the APRN Modernization Act includes the discussion about Eliminating unnecessary barriers that have proven to provide no value to the delivery and safety of APRN care and services (APRN Modernization Act, 2023). At the moment these issues are restricting APRN’s in Wisconsin with the physician agreement which takes away the autonomy and capabilities APRN’s are taught in school and are licensed in their respective state. The role I could play in this setting is continuing to advocate for the change with ensuring APRN’s can have full practice authority someday. I did see that since the covid-19 pandemic that the practice authority has not been enforced to provide the most providers during a time of higher needs.ReferencesAPRN Modernization act. Wisconsin Nurses Association. (2023, January 30). Retrieved from https://www.wisconsinnurses.org/aprn-modernization-act-3/Wisconsin APRN Coalition. Wisconsin Nurses Association. (2018, April 30). Retrieved from https://www.wisconsinnurses.org/advocacy/wisconsin-aprn-coalition/