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The passage of healthcare reform will mean many changes throughout the entirety of the industry, but what changes will come to nurses and their profession? Kevin Fickenscher, MD, identifies the following five changes that will directly impact the nursing profession in a post on the popular blog, KevinMD.com:
- Increased funding for graduate education for nurses.
- Increased funding for education for nurses who plan to work in underserved areas.
- Increased Medicare reimbursement rates for advanced practice nurses.
- Creation of a midwife pilot program that will deliver Medicare reimbursements for nurse practitioners who have created or led “medical homes.”
- Increased reimbursements for school-based clinics under Medicaid.
Dr. Fickenscher also points out that the reform bill recognizes the growing importance of nurses, which will only continue to grow as the act takes effect. Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, there is no doubt that the expanding roles of nurses will continue to grow even more crucial to the healthcare industry.
How do you foresee the reform impacting your profession in the coming years?
Correction: KevinMD is written by Kevin Pho. The above article references a post that Kevin Fickenscher contributed to KevinMD. You can read more from Kevin Fickenscher at TheFickenscherFiles.com.
