Senate BillNo. 323


Introduced by Senator Hernandez

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Eggman)

February 23, 2015


An act relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 323, as introduced, Hernandez. Nurse practitioners.

The Nursing Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of nurse practitioners by the Board of Registered Nursing.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations with respect to the importance of care provided by nurse practitioners.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P1    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) Nurse practitioners are a longstanding, vital, safe, effective,
4and important part of the state’s health care delivery system. They
5are especially important given California’s shortage of physicians,
6with just 16 of 58 counties having the federally recommended ratio
7of physicians to residents.

8(b) Nurse practitioners will play an especially important part in
9the implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable
10Care Act (Public Law 111-148), which will bring an estimated
11five million more Californians into the health care delivery system,
12 because they will provide for greater access to primary care
P2    1services in all areas of the state. This is particularly true for patients
2in medically underserved urban and rural communities.

3(c) Due to the excellent safety and efficacy record that nurse
4practitioners have earned, the Institute of Medicine of the National
5Academies has recommended full practice authority for nurse
6practitioners. Currently, 20 states allow nurse practitioners to
7practice to the full extent of their training and education.

8(d) Furthermore, nurse practitioners will assist in addressing
9the primary care provider shortage by removing delays in the
10provision of care that are created when dated regulations require
11a physician’s signature or protocol before a patient can initiate
12treatment or obtain diagnostic tests that are ordered by a nurse
13 practitioner.



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