Paper Example: Impact of Nurse Practitioners on Health Outcomes of Medicare and Medicaid Patients

As I have studied this course, I have encountered various research examining the effects of nursing practitioners on the health outcomes of patients. From the study, it was found that it is essential to strengthen health care and place effective measures to control the costs of health care in a cost-effective way. According to Oliver, Pennington, Revelle & Rantz (2014), nursing practitioners have proved to be efficient and cost-effective healthcare providers. Nonetheless, according to various studies, the majority of states restrict the practices of nursing practitioners. The study found that there is a positive relationship between the level of APRN practice and the results of the national healthcare beneficiaries of preventable hospitalizations (Oliver et al., 2014). In other cases, the rates of readmission, hospitalizations, and rehabilitation were compared to other state health rankings. Consequently, the results of the study were that those states that have a higher number of nursing practitioners have lower hospitalization rates, as well as improved health outcomes within the society. There also exist various hindrances to the full scope of the APRN practices and these obstacles have a negative effect on the nation's health. As a final point, necessary measures need to be taken to eradicate the barriers to APRN healthcare practices (Oliver et al., 2014).

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In the results, the study has found that the full practice of Nursing Practitioners improves the overall health outcomes of society. Similarly, the rates of hospitalization for multiple populations reduce, when each is tested (Oliver et al., 2014). Also, there are statistical differences between reduced and full practice, in all the examined data sets. However, there were no significant differences between the reduced and restricted data sets in the examined data sets. In conclusion, there is a strong and recurrent pattern of statistical significance that emerges when making comparisons between nursing practices and the overall rates of hospitalization in the community (Oliver et al., 2014).

The study also makes comparisons between the readmission rates of people who have been in hospital care for hospitalization, rehabilitation, and general health outcomes. Similarly, the research has discovered that the use of full practice nursing practitioners is directly related to the reduction in hospitalization rates for multiple populations and thus having an impact on the cost and quality of health care (Oliver et al., 2014). Besides, as a recommendation by the Federal Trade Commission and IOM, actions and in-depth investigations need to be undertaken so as to remove the APRN practice barriers. Hence, with the results of this study put in literature, it is possible for us to expect in the near future that the barriers to APRN to be lifted with no delays (Oliver et al., 2014). This will in turn facilitate diverse methods of cost-effective and high-quality healthcare provision nationally.

Strengths of the Study The weakness of the Study

For the full inclusion of the data, the study was conducted on a national scope. Offering a large sample population. The data for nursing practitioners were gathered from a report from 2013.

The tables used as sources of data are from a reliable and verified source. In addition, the study is written by three Ph.D. authors, thus making it more reliable and credible. There were differences from the latter years where the data was obtained for the four additional data sets used.

Finally, the methods of data collection and analysis used by the authors are up to date. Hence, rendering their information reliable. The data from patient outcomes ranged from 2006 to 2011. In addition, a legislative update showed that twelve states had adopted the full APRN practice as compared to the seventeen states in 2013. Likewise, APRN practices may be associated, with and affect the health outcomes and rate of hospitalization for frail elders.

References

Oliver, G. M., Pennington, L., Revelle, S., & Rantz, M. (2014). Impact of nurse practitioners on health outcomes of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Nursing Outlook, 62(6), 440-447.