Nurse practitioner legislation passes
Yesterday the Senate passed historic legislation that will give nurse practitioners and midwives access to the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the first time.
Nurse practitioners will be able to provide care in the most appropriate settings, such as aged care facilities, primary care settings or people’s homes.
At a cost of nearly $60 million, this will expand services to many families who currently struggle to access health care.
Nurse practitioners and midwives wishing to provide treatment under Medicare and prescribe medicines under the PBS will need to demonstrate that they meet certain professional eligibility requirements and that they have appropriate collaborative arrangements in place.
The new Medicare and PBS arrangements will be available from 1 November 2010.
