Senate Bill S7975

                                BILL NUMBER:S7975

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing nurse
practitioners to perform functions in conjunction with diagnosing an
illness

PURPOSE:

To clarify that nurse practitioners may perform various functions in
conjunction with clinical services within their scope of practice.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Adds a new paragraph (h) to section 6902 of the Education Law to
clarify that a nurse practitioner may perform any function in
conjunction with a diagnosis or treatment that is within the nurse
practitioner's scope of practice, where a statute authorizes or
directs a physician to perform that function. For example, a nurse
practitioner could fill out a form certifying to a diagnosis, or
issue an order. This section shall not be construed to increase or
decrease the lawful scope of practice of a nurse practitioner.

JUSTIFICATION:
              

Under existing law, nurse practitioners are able to diagnose illness
and physical conditions, and perform therapeutic and corrective
measures within a specialty area of practice. Yet they are not
authorized by some statutes to perform many functions related to
their lawful practice. Following are examples of why this legislation
is needed.

Nurse practitioners are frequently the caregivers in attendance when a
patient passes away. With their extensive training and expertise,
they are fully qualified under their existing scope of practice to
issue death certificates.

Under current law, the attending physician must obtain the
contemporaneous consent of a patient with decisional capacity prior
to issuing a DNR. The decision by an individual about whether to
withhold resuscitation is a deeply personal one. It should be
contemplated in consultation with a person's primary care provider,
which in many instances is a nurse practitioner. Because current law
only allows physicians to execute a DNR, many patients are deprived
of the ability to make this decision in collaboration with their
primary care provider if such provider is a nurse practitioner.
Patients should not be limited to establishing a DNR for themselves
with a physician with whom they may have had little or no direct
contact.

Many children have a pediatric nurse practitioner as their primary
care provider. Nurse practitioners have the training, skill, and
familiarity necessary to recognize and certify pediatric patients who
are at risk of detrimental health effects from vaccines. In the


interest of common sense and efficiency, nurse practitioners should
be recognized as capable of making such certification when necessary.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Effective immediately.