New Brunswickers deserve the same quality health care as other Canadians
Angela Tower
About 50,000 New Brunswickers are without a primary care provider. Forty thousand men, women, and children without access to primary care and all the benefits that come with it.
We want to provide greater access and more affordable health care for every New Brunswicker, no matter where they live in the province.
With your help, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) can help to build a better and more affordable health care system for New Brunswickers.
New Brunswick is the only province in Canada that does not allow independent NPs diagnostic and laboratory privileges. NB citizens have the right to access publicly funded laboratory and diagnostic testing when deemed medically necessary by the ordering NP no matter their place of employment.
Without issuing an active Medicare ‘shadow-billing’ number to independent NPs, the NB patient’s access to specialist care is blocked—even though the NPs scope of practice allows such a referral. All citizens in NB have the right to access Specialty care no matter the place of employment of the NP who deemed the referral to specialty care medically necessary.
Despite a Pandemic and recent talks with the Department of Health to reduce barriers to primary care for patients of independent NPs, the Department of Health has given both Regional Health Authorities’ (RHA) Board of Directors a new policy direction on providing privileges to medical practitioners, including independent NPs. Direction was given to revise policies and bylaws with the intent to charge medical practitioners granted privileges directly for the use of RHA resources, including laboratory tests or diagnostic services. NB citizens are entitled to these publicly funded insured services under the Canada Health Act, and these policy changes would impose further barriers to care for NB citizens and may possibly infringe on the Canada Health Act.
What we know:
Most family physicians are also in independent practice and have laboratory and diagnostic privileges. Why not NPs?
Current legislation supports government extending laboratory and diagnostic privileges to all NPs (including independent NPs).
Independent NPs provide additional entry points to much needed primary care and help close gaps and bottle necks in our health care system.
New Brunswick NPs face barriers to independent practice that other NPs across Canada do not.
It is past time to allow New Brunswick NPs to provide the same quality health care other Canadians have access to.
The rest of the country has figured this out, so let’s do the same here in New Brunswick. Nurse Practitioners can help—but only if the government will let us. We are asking for your support for increased access for NPs, and greater access and more affordable health care for every New Brunswicker no matter where they live. Help us share our message.