McElroy, Phyllis
Saint Thomas HospitalSupportIndividual
Summary: The commenter advocates for allowing Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) to write respiratory and rehabilitation orders without requiring a physician's co-signature. They argue that this change is necessary to reflect the current hospital environment and to reduce administrative burdens.
We need for PA's and NP's to write orders for Respiratory Orders as well as rehabilitation orders without the additional burden of having the orders co-signed. The physicians should be able to give permision to NP's and PA's as with other orders without having to co-sign them to meet CMS requirements in the inpatient setting. The environment has changed significantly with many organizations employing these professionals to assist in quick followup on patient care issues in the hospital setting.