Medical Monopoly and its Effect on the Emerging Role of the Nurse Practitioner

Running head: MEDICAL MONOPLOY








Medical Monopoly and its Effect on the Emerging Role of the Nurse Practitioner




A wide variety of licensing laws and other regulatory restrictions limits the scope of practice of nonphysician professionals and restricts access to their services. At the same time that it is restricting the practices of nontraditional health care professionals, government is providing subsidies for the education and training of physicians who fit the medical orthodoxy. The result is the creation of a veritable medical monopoly, leading to less choice and higher prices for consumers.
Battle for Domination: Historical perspective
As early as 1971 public health specialists were suggesting that productivity in health care could be improved by realigning overlapping duties of physicians and nurses. Research results indicated that non-physicians could safely handle a substantial proportion of patients’ problems an...