We are sad to report, that despite the efforts of Nurse Practitioners throughout the state, that on June 20, 2006, Governor Bush signed into law House Bill 699.  The effects from this bill may not be felt by many, but the sacrifice of any colleague in our profession is sure to have rippling effects throughout the state as well as the country.  Those most likely to be hurt will be our patients who rely on us to care for them and see them without reservation.  Although we have done our best to educate our legislators as well as the governor on the negative impacts of this bill, we must look to the future now and work even harder to prevent further legislation from chipping away any further from our scopes of practice.  Impacts most notable from this bill are as follows:

§         Many NPs who run “Med Spa’s” will likely need to either find a Board certified/eligible Dermatologist to have as their collaborating Physician, or face closing their doors.

§         NPs that practice Dermatology as their primary practice must also have either a Board certified/eligible Dermatologist to have as their collaborating Physician.

§         The above restriction, does not apply to NPs who practice Dermatology in designated “rural” health settings, or are in university run/sponsored clinics.

§         Physicians are now limited to having no more than five “off-site” clinics, and Dermatologists no more than three (which is to be reduced to only one after several years).

§         Nurse Practitioners must have a notice posted in their clinics of the hours (if any), the collaborating Physician will be onsite

§         NPs must inform patients of their designation either in writing or by wearing their title on their clothing (name tag, which most of us already do stating we are a “Nurse Practitioner”.

 

Please begin to gather your strengths and make room in your calendars to see your local representatives and Senators who are within your districts.  The need to educate them now, more than ever, is obvious with the likelihood that our colleagues in organized medicine have set the precedent for the rest of the country to follow.  We must prevent any further challenges to our practice and move forward to protect our profession as well as advance our goals toward one day having the same scopes of practice as our fellow NPs in many other states.