Pennsylvania Patients are Facing a
Healthcare Access Crisis
Pennsylvania patients face challenges accessing mental health services, from long wait times to severe psychiatrist shortages across the state.
But rather than making it easier for qualified professionals to practice in underserved communities, Pennsylvania's outdated laws make it difficult and expensive for NPs to bring high-quality health care to these local communities.
​Watch our new video where psychiatric NPs describe the red tape they continue to face bringing mental health care to local communities, as well as the challenges patients face when trying to access mental health services in Pennsylvania.
​For Nurse Practitioners, close collaboration with other health care providers is fundamental. NPs practice patient-centered care, where a team of providers works hand-in-hand to improve outcomes and increase patient access to care.​
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Yet as the movement grows to grant Pennsylvania’s NPs Full Practice Authority — a step taken by 27 other states to eliminate a costly, unnecessary “collaborative agreement” with two physicians — there have been questions about what this will mean for PA patients.
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It's time for Pennsylvania to pass full practice authority legislation to remove these outdated restrictions and allow patients to access high-quality NP-led care.