Care Delivery Is Transforming. So Too Must The Role Of The Physician

Many large health systems and provider practices continue to be restrictive, routinely assigning  tasks like ordering preventive services such as referrals for annual eye exams or mammograms to overburdened physicians, rather than utilizing nurses who are credentialed for these services. The result is dissatisfied nurses, strained physicians, and frustrated patients. I practiced cardiology in North Carolina for nearly 15 years. Many of my patients lived in rural, underserved communities. The effectiveness of my clinical practice was largely informed by my ability to reach my patients, or their ability to access the care I was providing. Some of my patients would have to travel 45 minutes to see me for services that, in many cases, could have been provided just as easily, and just as effectively, by advanced practice nurses who were a lot closer in proximity.