Massachusetts Case Study: Nurse Practitioners & the Demand for Primary Care

With more Americans due to become insured as a result of healthcare reform, nurse practitioners will be increasingly necessary to help make up for the shortage of primary care physicians. Residents of Massachusetts have been required to have health insurance since 2007. There, nurse practitioners have stepped in to meet the demand for primary care. Nurse practitioner Dr. Marie-Eileen Onieal, health policy expert and director of health services for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, joins host Mimi Secor to look at the role NPs play in Massachusetts' healthcare system, and how this model can help reduce costs and improve patient care throughout the country.