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AANP Concerns with Revised APRN Compact

Posted about 3 years ago by Marci Newcome

From AANP . . .

State sessions around the country are opening state houses and considering issues that will impact your practice and patient care. The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is currently tracking legislation that will directly impact nurse practitioner (NP) practice and licensure in states and across the nation. 

CONCERNS WITH REVISED APRN COMPACT PERSIST
Our members have asked about the revised APRN compact and it has been shopped around to a few states for this session. You may recall that in August, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) adopted a revised version of the APRN Compact. Those changes were opposed by AANP and more than 40 nursing organizations around the country. The revised version of the APRN Compact that is being circulated for states to consider and still contains the language of concern. So far, Idaho and Wyoming have both declined to move the revised version forward this year.

In the past, the association has supported the concept of a multistate licensure compact for APRNs. AANP still believes that ending the patchwork of licensure and practice authorization is necessary to improve health outcomes for patients and address health care workforce needs. However, AANP finds that the revised compact does not end the patchwork, adds unnecessary restrictions, and misses key elements. AANP remains opposed to the changes the NCSBN made in the revised APRN compact and does not support adopting the revised APRN Compact in states at this time.

  • The revised APRN Compact added the requirement for 2,080 practice hours as a precondition to obtaining a multistate license. This requirement conflicts with the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, is not evidence-based, and creates unnecessary regulatory barriers.
  • The revised compact does not include authority to prescribe controlled substances. NPs who treat patients who have mental health, pain, substance use disorder or other conditions treated with controlled medications will remain subject to each state’s individual requirements and regulations.
  • AANP is deeply concerned by the lack of guaranteed APRN representation and the absence of an APRN advisory committee to Compact Administrators once the compact is effective. AANP believes that the knowledge of the APRN role and expertise of practicing clinicians is vital to the regulation and administration of compact administration of advanced practice nursing.

The revised compact will require that seven states adopt it before it is enacted/effective. At this time no state has adopted the revised version.

AANP will continue our dialogue with stakeholders to address the issues within the revised Compact. AANP believes that all patients deserve full and direct access to NP services and we will continue to advocate to remove and prevent barriers to NP practice and patient care. Please reach out to the AANP State Government Affairs staff if you have any questions or if your state is considering compact language.