Next course: Roast prime of physician?
This MedPage Today article notes that providers — and especially physicians who have fought expanding the scope of practice by nurses, etc.– must accept that the aging of the population and other factors will force big changes in their work.
The article concludes:
“In years past the Florida Medical Association has generally opposed scope-of-practice bills that they perceive as stripping authority from physicians as care team leaders. However, in this case they backed off their opposition when it became clear that the legislature was backing the nurses, who’d made a strong case for improving care access. In exchange, the physicians negotiated new language simplifying prior authorization forms with payers.
“The moral of the Florida story is that special interests that once tried to limit scope of practice to protect their market share now understand that their biggest opponent is demographics. The better course would be to understand the inevitable and cut the best deal you can negotiate. As the old saying goes, if you’re not at the table you’re on the menu.”