A Tennessee bill that would restrict nurse anesthetists' ability to provide pain management services is unnecessarily costly and harmful for patients in underserved areas, according to a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
In an editorial in The Tennessean, CRNA Mark Haffey says that the bill "would actually prevent many Tennesseans from having access to safe, cost-effective pain management services provided by qualified health-care professionals, namely certified registered nurse anesthetists. How? By requiring a limited group of physicians to provide on-site supervision of pain-management services, a burdensome, expensive and unmanageable restriction that could shut down pain management services in many facilities across the state."
Access to pain management services under the proposed bill would be particularly limited for elderly patients and those who live in rural, low-income or medically underserved areas, says Mr. Haffey, who chairs the public relations committee for the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
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In an editorial in The Tennessean, CRNA Mark Haffey says that the bill "would actually prevent many Tennesseans from having access to safe, cost-effective pain management services provided by qualified health-care professionals, namely certified registered nurse anesthetists. How? By requiring a limited group of physicians to provide on-site supervision of pain-management services, a burdensome, expensive and unmanageable restriction that could shut down pain management services in many facilities across the state."
Access to pain management services under the proposed bill would be particularly limited for elderly patients and those who live in rural, low-income or medically underserved areas, says Mr. Haffey, who chairs the public relations committee for the Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
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