A new study shows that Nurse Practitioners (NPs) in New York are gravitating to areas around the state with the greatest healthcare need. Statewide, about 43 percent of NPs are working in federally designated primary health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). When you look at rural areas, that figure jumps up even more. Nearly 70 percent of NPs in rural areas work in primary care HPSAs, compared with 39 percent of NPs in urban areas.
"This information helps us to better quantify the contribution of NPs in expanding access to care for underserved populations," said Robert Martiniano, Senior Program Manager at the University of Albany's Center for Health Workforce Studies, the author of the study.
As lawmakers in Texas consider ways to expand access to care to rural and underserved areas, studies like these highlight the potential benefits Texas could reap if it removed regulatory and other barriers that make it difficult for APRNs to practice where they are needed most.
Read the full study here: http://www.chwsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/New_York_NPs_Report_2017.pdf