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Arkansas committee rejects bill to remove mandatory NP–physician collaboration agreements
Summary
After hours of testimony from nurse practitioners, physicians and researchers, the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee declined to advance SB 189, which would have allowed experienced APRNs to seek prescriptive authority without a mandatory collaborative agreement; supporters cited rural access while opponents warned of safety and training gaps.
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee heard hours of testimony on SB 189 on the subject of removing mandatory collaborative practice agreements for advanced practice registered nurses, but the panel voted not to advance the bill.
Sponsor Sen. Wallace said the bill would let nurse practitioners with 2,000 hours of supervised prescriptive practice apply for authority to prescribe without a continuing mandatory collaboration, a change she said would expand access in rural Arkansas while excluding Schedule II drugs. "How can one physician supervise 19 clinics from Northeast Arkansas to Southwest Arkansas?" she asked, citing an example of a large physician practice stretching…
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