It’s easy to greet the thought of keeping up with political and legislative agendas in healthcare with a big yawn. Or, to shy away from diving into the controversy of the current election. After a long work week, the last thing nurse practitioners have the energy for is perusing articles discussing the latest CMS reimbursement policies, HIPAA updates and healthcare reform implications. But, with every aspect of patient care so highly regulated, nurse practitioners are wise to stay in the know when it comes to health policy. How can you keep informed?
Fortunately for nurse practitioners, there are a few well written and frequently updated resources that help healthcare providers stay up to date with the latest in politics and legislation affecting medical practice. Here are four to check out next time you’ve got the itch for a policy update.
1. Health Affairs Blog
From insurance insights to the latest congressional rulings, the Health Affairs Blog has health policy covered. Articles such as “How PAs Factor Into Improved CMS Patient Satisfaction Scores” directly address policy affecting nurse practitioners and physician assistants while content like “The Rising Cost of Drugs: Where Do We Go From Here?” gives a broader look into the state of our nation’s healthcare system. Updated frequently, the Health Affairs Blog site is definitely one to keep on your blog roll.
2. Kaiser Health News
Kaiser Health News is perhaps the most comprehensive legislative healthcare resource out there. The site delves into state-specific and national healthcare issues covering something for providers at all professional levels. The site is organized into sections discussing health law, Medicare, Medicaid, cost and quality, insurance, mental health and the uninsured making it easy to uncover the content most relevant to your practice area.
3. American Association of Nurse Practitioners
For nurse practitioners most interested in staying up to date with NP related legislation, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners website contains a few links and resources for tracking the latest state rulings concerning NPs. Providers interested in helping further the movement for independent nurse practitioner practice in their state may also reference the AANP’s State Policy Toolkit, a resource to help the NP advocate get started.
4. The Health Care Blog
Talking the business of healthcare, health policy and tech, The Health Care Blog is contains a wealth of information and opinion about the inner-workings of our healthcare system. From “Patients are NOT Customers” to “Will Software Eat Healthcare?“, The Health Care Blog presents potentially dull topics in an engaging manner.
Which resources do you use to keep up to date with health policy and politics?
You Might Also Like: How Little Does the Government Have to Prove to Revoke Your NP License?