Introduction
Barbara Lumping Prescribing Act inspired eligible healthcare workers to seek deliberate treatment in 1993. The act came into action on January 1, 2017. Precisely, the bill sanctioned Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) to recommend structured medications in Florida. The act also gave the nurses room to acquire inadequate treatment within a period of seven days. On the other hand, the act discouraged teenagers from psychotropic treatment unless under doctors’ instruction. According to the bill, controlled medications refer to abused drugs.
Reflection on what it Means for APRNS in Florida to have this privilege
It is indeed a massive privilege for APRNs in Florida as it brings about expanded authority. It means that now APRNs in Florida, through the bill, can extend care to even prescribing controlled medications. Increasing primary care services helps enhance access to health services, which is essential for those in rural areas or deprived population groups that do not have the means to access these services. With this privilege, APRNs will be able to deliver better patient care, especially in rural settings. Florida was the last state to pass the bill. Thus, APRNs in Florida have all reasons to be happy that their work is enhanced in a better way.
Pros
The bill has several advantages. The bill will significantly help save patients money as nurses prescribe their drugs, which reduces the need to go to another doctor (Craig-Rodriguez et al., 2017). Thus, with reduced cost and better delivery of services, patients will enjoy high-quality, cost-effective health care and faster access to treatment.
Nurses can assess, examine and provide advice and treatment due to their immediate interactions with doctors. In some hospitals, they are allowed to discharge patients hence the need to write prescriptions too. If allowed to prescribe controlled medication, nurses will gain knowledge by writing a prescription and credibility as healthcare professionals. The bill is of enormous benefit to patients in rural settings as it increases healthcare access where nurse practitioners in the clinics can prescribe medications to them. Prescription of controlled medications will encourage preventive measures and early interventions, thus reducing the risks associated with treatment (Craig-Rodriguez et al., 2017). Before the bill was approved, patients in rural areas had to go to the ER or visit another physician, which was expensive and resulted in a bad healthcare experience.
The bill has brought about the efficiency of care and access to care. APRNS have the privilege of prescribing new drugs which help prevent diseases and enhance the quality of life. Patients benefited, considering drug problems in the U.S., where more drugs are now listed as addictive.
Cons
The bill has limitations on the medications that APRNS can prescribe. It may be challenging for nurse practitioners to effectively prescribe critical medications to patients (Craig-Rodriguez et al., 2017). Further, safely providing medication is a challenge in modern society, so nurses have to engage in constant education and training, incorporating clinical decision support, which is hectic and challenging to learn.
Conclusion
Each time a patient has to go to the doctor to receive prescriptions, it costs money and requires many procedures that waste time, especially when the illness is not that intense. In hospitals, many nurses have worked with doctors to learn through first-hand experience how to examine patients and prescribe medication. Barbara Lumpkin Prescribing Act enables patients to access their prescriptions promptly, which has helped increase the efficiency of care and access.
Reference
Craig-Rodriguez, A., Gordon, G., Kaplan, L., & Grubbs, L. (2017). Transitioning Florida NPs to opioid prescribing. The Nurse Practitioner, 42(9), 1-8.