Given the serious shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S. (which most likely will get worse as the Accountable Care Act is fully implemented), I read with great interest the executive summary of The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, an examination of the nursing workforce.
The report, recently published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), offers recommendations that "are intended to support efforts to improve the health of the U.S. population through the contributions nurses can make to the delivery of care."
IOM Recommendations
The IOM report makes the following recommendations:
- Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.
- Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.
- Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States.
- Effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure.
According to the IOM, "skilled nurses--who are quicker and easier to educate than doctors--should be allowed to take on more primary-care roles to meet the future demand under healthcare reform and the aging of the baby boomer population."
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Campaign
Building on the recommendations of the IOM, earlier this week the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, "which will work to address the increased demand for care by using all the skills, talents, knowledge and experience of nurses."
The Campaign will work with five states to implement measures that can be successfully replicated by additional states later. The states are: California, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, and Mississippi.
Importantly, "This Campaign will transform our nation's health care system so that all Americans have access to high-quality, patient-centered care where they live, work, learn and play and across the lifespan," according to Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of RWJF. "This Initiative is vital to the strength of our nation's health, and will remain so for generations to come."
What do you think? Please leave a comment below or in the Health Insurance Forum.
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