Back to All NewsNew Bill Would Grant Independent Practice to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Kansas
Posted By American Med Spa Association, Thursday, January 24, 2019
Share
A new bill introduced in Kansas would allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to practice without the need for physician supervision. The bill is introduced in the House of Representatives and sponsored by the Committee on Health and Human Services. You can review the text of House Bill 2066 (HB 2066) in full here.
HB 2066 proposes sweeping changes to Kansas current Advanced Practice Registered Nursing Laws. Currently APRNs must practice subject to written protocols and authorization to collaborative practice with a physician. A written protocol with a physician also governs their ability to prescribe medication. HB 2066 would expand the definition of the APRN role to include performing assessments, interpreting, diagnosing, delegating, and prescribing with the ability but not requirement, to collaborate and consult with other medical professionals. Other nurses would also be able to execute treatment regimens from APRNs in addition to regimes prescribed by physicians and dentists. An APRN’s prescriptive authority would now extend to procuring and administering schedule II through V controlled substances instead of being limited to only the drugs authorized by a physician in their written protocol. The national trend has been moving towards allowing APRNs to practice as independent healthcare providers and not dependent on the supervision of physicians. In that regard, HB 2066 is right in line with that trend and if passed would give Kansas APRNs among the fewest practice restrictions in the country.
We will be monitoring HB 2066 as it works its way through Kansas’s legislative process this year. If you would like to contact HB 2066’s sponsors, they can be reached via the committee’s website.
HB 2066 proposes sweeping changes to Kansas current Advanced Practice Registered Nursing Laws. Currently APRNs must practice subject to written protocols and authorization to collaborative practice with a physician. A written protocol with a physician also governs their ability to prescribe medication. HB 2066 would expand the definition of the APRN role to include performing assessments, interpreting, diagnosing, delegating, and prescribing with the ability but not requirement, to collaborate and consult with other medical professionals. Other nurses would also be able to execute treatment regimens from APRNs in addition to regimes prescribed by physicians and dentists. An APRN’s prescriptive authority would now extend to procuring and administering schedule II through V controlled substances instead of being limited to only the drugs authorized by a physician in their written protocol. The national trend has been moving towards allowing APRNs to practice as independent healthcare providers and not dependent on the supervision of physicians. In that regard, HB 2066 is right in line with that trend and if passed would give Kansas APRNs among the fewest practice restrictions in the country.
We will be monitoring HB 2066 as it works its way through Kansas’s legislative process this year. If you would like to contact HB 2066’s sponsors, they can be reached via the committee’s website.
