Medical Societies Urge Members of Congress to Vote Against Legislation Expanding Scope of Practice for Mid-level Providers

A coalition of professional medical societies, including ISASS, submitted a letter on June 1, 2023, to members of the US Congress urging them to vote against legislation introduced in May 2023 under the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (I CAN) Act.

This proposed legislation would increase the types of services nonphysician practitioners (eg, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) can perform and would remove physician involvement in patient care. The letter states the legislation would allow nonphysician practitioners to perform tasks and services outside their education and training and could result in increased utilization of services, increased costs, and lower quality of care for patients. Additionally, the bill would remove supervision requirements for certified registered nurse anesthetists, a change that the physician societies state could have a negative impact on quality outcomes for patients.

The letter refers to research on differences in quality of care and other patient outcomes between care provided by physicians and mid-level providers and emphasizes that a wholistic, team-based approach to care is best for patients and health care delivery as a whole.

To read the letter, see here.