Nurse practioners and elder care

[Martha]

Business Week has an interesting article about nurse practitioners providing primary care to the elderly. The article notes a serious shortage of MDs who specialize in geriatrics and a lack of interest among students to chose geriatrics as a specialty.

The Right Cure For Ailing Elder Care?

At the end of our lives, we can only hope to see the face of someone like Renee Roberts. She is a 42-year-old geriatric nurse practitioner employed by Evercare, a division of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH ) that coordinates care for elderly clients. She also represents a possible solution to the worsening shortage of doctors trained to treat the elderly. A health-care model that relied heavily on nurse practitioners for senior citizens rather than physicians could save the nation money--a lot of money--arguably without compromising quality. "We know that investing in an NP up front leads to better care and a lower cost at the back end," says Evercare Chief Executive Dr. John Mach, himself a geriatrician. "We've achieved a 45% reduction in hospitalizations with no negative impact."

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Business Week has an interesting article about nurse practitioners providing primary care to the elderly.

My uncle was visited several times a week by a hospice NP as he was dying of liver cancer. It allowed him to remain at home and she said that it was a great way for her to deal with hospital burnout.

[Khan]

An aunt was an NP; I would have no problem with her care.

[Brat]

My former SIL is a ANP. She oversaw my mother's care. No concerns.

Frankly I see Nurse Practitioners as a valuable health care providers. Nurse Practitioners are particularly valuable for healthy Mom prenatal care, well-baby care, elderly care, and routine health care. These services have the highest return for the standard measures of a healthy society.

My SIL said that she had an Internal Medicine MD tell her that the best return for our health care system and the professional is a Nurse Practitioner practice. While some might not have confidence that an NP wouldn't referr when appropriate, there is little difference IMHO between them and other health care providers.