The effects of dental hygienist autonomy on dental care utilization.

We investigate the effects of regulations governing the practice autonomy of dental hygienists on dental care use with the 2001-2014 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. We measure the strength of autonomy regulations by extending the Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index to the years 2001-2014, allowing us to capture changes in regulations within states over time. Using a difference-in-differences framework applied to selected states, we find that relaxing supervision requirements to provide dental hygienists moderate autonomy results in an increase in total dental visits due to greater use of preventive dental care.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Full Practice Authority, Provider Supply, and Health Outcomes: A Border Analysis.

Due to a growing physician shortage, patients have difficulty accessing primary care. In an effort to expand access and support patient health, many states are reducing barriers for advanced practice registered nurses to provide primary care without physician collaboration. Maryland provides an interesting case study.

Advancement of research on nurse practitioners: Setting a research agenda.

Background: Primary care delivered by nurse practitioners (NPs) helps to meet the United States' growing demand for care and improves patient outcomes. Yet, barriers impede NP practice. Knowledge of these barriers is limited, hindering opportunities to eliminate them.

Estimating the effect of dialysis staffing ratio regulations on mortality and hospitalizations for Medicare hemodialysis patients.

Background And Objectives: Eight states and Washington, DC have implemented regulations mandating a minimum ratio between treatment staff and patients receiving hemodialysis in a facility in an effort to improve the quality of hemodialysis treatment. Our investigation examines the association between minimum staffing regulations and patient mortality for four states and hospitalizations for two states that implemented these rules during our sample period.

Design, Setting, Participants, And Measurements: We utilized a synthetic difference in differences estimation to analyze the effect of minimum staffing ratios on hemodialysis treatment quality, measured by deaths and hospitalizations for end-stage renal disease patients.

Exploring the Relationship between Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority, Nurse Practitioner Workforce Diversity, and Disparate Primary Care Access.

In this study, we examine how full nurse practitioner (NP) practice authority affects racial and ethnic diversity of the NP workforce. Specifically, the purpose of our research is to understand the relationship between the racial and ethnic composition of the NP workforce, NP level of practice authority, and the communities they service. In this paper, we compare the ethnic and racial composition of the NP workforce to the composition of the state's population, and then observe if there are any noticeable differences in the patients served by NPs when we compare full practice authority (FPA) and non-FPA states.