Five New Studies Nurse Practitioners Expand Access to Health Care Lower Costs Improve Outcomes

The article addresses five separate studies that concluded that nurse practitioners expand access to care, improve patient health outcomes, boost rural health care, lower primary care costs and reduce emergency room admissions. The five studies discussed in this article include: • Montana State University: Nurse practitioner patients less costly to Medicare than physician patients • Montana State University: MSU study finds nurse practitioners more likely than medical doctors to work in rural areas • University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: Study backs quality of nurse practitioner, physician assistant care • University of California, San Francisco: Full Practice Authority for Nurse Practitioners Lowers Primary Care Costs • George Mason University: "Scope of Practice" Laws Raise Health Care Costs for Poor