Scope of Practice and Opioid Prescribing Behavior of Nurse Practitioners Serving Medicare Beneficiaries

37 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2022

See all articles by Shishir Shakya

Shishir Shakya

Appalachian State University

Alicia Plemmons

West Virginia University

Abstract

Policymakers prioritizing increasing access to health care, while simultaneously keeping costs low and quality high, are considering expanding the scope of practice and prescriptive authority of nurse practitioners. While we know this increases access, some researchers argue that the expansion of job autonomy of nurse practitioners can compromise the quality and safety of rendered medical services. This paper investigates quality and safety outcomes in prescribing behaviors of nurse practitioners who have prescribed opioids for Medicare Part D beneficiaries using a unique source of policy variation, nurse practitioners with the ability to prescribe medication, but move to either states with or without physician supervision. We find that scope of practice expansions do not compromise quality and safety in terms of potential abuse or misuse of prescriptive authority.

Keywords: scope of practice, licensing, nurse practitioners, regulation, Mobility

Suggested Citation

Shakya, Shishir and Plemmons, Alicia, Scope of Practice and Opioid Prescribing Behavior of Nurse Practitioners Serving Medicare Beneficiaries. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4207854 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4207854

Shishir Shakya

Appalachian State University ( email )

Boone, NC 28607
United States

HOME PAGE: http://shishirshakya.github.io/

Alicia Plemmons (Contact Author)

West Virginia University ( email )

P.O. Box 6025
Morgantown, WV 26506
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
75
Abstract Views
409
Rank
604,202
PlumX Metrics