To address the shortage of doctors in rural areas and also ensure that no patient is deprived of essential medical care during an emergency, the Union government is considering creating a cadre of ‘nurse practitioners’ and authorising them to prescribe medicines.
This was revealed by Union Additional Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Arun Kumar Panda, on Friday.
Dr. Panda, who participated in a programme organised by NIMHANS to observe International Nurses Day on Friday, said this was essential as several patients were deprived of timely medical care because of paucity of doctors.
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A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse educated to a master’s degree level and authorised to function autonomously and collaboratively in an advanced and extended clinical role.
He said such a system existed in most developed countries and it was the need of the hour.
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