Nurse practitioners; practice agreements.

Eliminates the requirement for a practice agreement with a patient care team physician for a licensed nurse practitioner who has completed the equivalent of at least five years of full-time clinical experience and submitted an attestation from his patient care team physician stating (i) that the patient care team physician has served as a patient care team physician on a patient care team with the nurse practitioner pursuant to a practice agreement; (ii) that while a party to such practice agreement, the patient care team physician routinely practiced with a patient population and in a practice area included within the category for which the nurse practitioner was certified and licensed; and (iii) the period of time for which the patient care team physician practiced with the nurse practitioner under such a practice agreement. The bill requires that a nurse practitioner authorized to practice without a practice agreement (a) only practice within the scope of his clinical and professional training and limits of his knowledge and experience and consistent with the applicable standards of care, (b) consult and collaborate with other health care providers based on the clinical conditions of the patient to whom health care is provided, and (c) establish a plan for referral of complex medical cases and emergencies to physicians or other appropriate health care providers. The bill requires (1) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to jointly promulgate regulations governing the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement; (2) the Department of Health Professions, by November 1, 2020, to report to the General Assembly a process by which nurse practitioners who practice without a practice agreement may be included in the online Practitioner Profile maintained by the Department of Health Professions; and (3) the Boards of Medicine and Nursing to report information related to the practice of nurse practitioners without a practice agreement that includes certain data, complaints and disciplinary actions, and recommended modifications to the provisions of this bill to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health and the Chairman of the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2021.