ANF: More choice for consumers as nurse practitioners get MBS and PBS access
Published: 1 November 2010
The Australian Nursing Federation is very pleased that today nurse practitioners and eligible midwives will be able to offer their patients access to MBS and PBS rebates.
While some details are still being debated, assistant secretary Yvonne Chaperon said this legislation has the potential to greatly increase affordable access to health professionals for all patients.
“The way the legislation is set up, a patient can potentially walk in off the street, access the services of a nurse practitioner and receive benefits,” she said.
She said it was clear that the community wanted the option of seeing a nurse practitioner if they needed to. The nurse-led clinic in Canberra, staffed by nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurses, opened mid this year. In the first two months 2,400 patients were seen at this clinic.
“This is the community voting with their feet and should surely silence those critics from the medical profession who are convinced the community only want to see a doctor,” Ms Chaperon said.
“Nurse practitioners have master’s degrees, extensive clinical practice expertise and many, many years of experience. This is great news for consumers who want affordable, quality care without long waiting times.”
This comes as a new survey reveals nurse care is highly valued by the community.
The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI) at ANU and Health Care Consumers’ Association of the ACT (HCCA) survey found that most Australians would be happy to visit nurse practitioners.
The research found nurses are excellent advocates for their patients and are able to provide them with more choice and better access to primary care in terms of affordability and shorter waiting times.
The ANF looks forward to working with the federal government to address any issue that may arise in the roll out of this legislation.Contact:
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