JOURNAL ARTICLE

Scope‐of‐practice laws and the practice patterns of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

  • Published In: Contemporary Economic Policy, 2025, v. 43, n. 1. P. 9 1 of 3

  • Database: Business Source Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: McMichael, Benjamin J. 3 of 3

Abstract

I evaluate whether nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) change how they practice when states relax the scope‐of‐practice laws governing these professions. I find little evidence that NPs or PAs begin providing specialty services following relaxation. Some evidence suggests that NPs specialize more in rural areas following the relaxation of scope‐of‐practice laws, but no indication that they do so generally. Overall, the evidence developed here suggests that NPs and PAs do not change how they care for patients following the relaxation of scope‐of‐practice laws, undermining patient safety arguments along these lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Contemporary Economic Policy. 2025/01, Vol. 43, Issue 1, p9
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Social Sciences and Humanities
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:1074-3529
  • DOI:10.1111/coep.12665
  • Accession Number:181967344
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Contemporary Economic Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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