Well said. This article painted a good picture of why this barrier is such an issue to not just NPs, but to the rural community in particular. With the growing disparity of primary care providers in general, I wonder if this is an even more prevalent issue in states that don't allow full practice rights for NPs since NPs may be drawn away from those areas.

Totally agree Jake. Nurse practitioners have also been shown to provide very cost effective care with high patient satisfaction. NP's should be able to practice more fully as dictated by their education!

Agreed! Studies have been done repeatedly to look at the quality and safety of care provided by nurse practitioners and they consistently show performance of NPs on par with that of physicians. Plus in rural and underserved areas the improvement in access with independent practice provides a great boon to the medical community.