Highlights
- •Scope of practice (SOP) policies may influence efforts to increase access to care.
- •Our findings suggest a link between SOP and retail clinic growth.
- •Our results using a regional analysis suggest the need for a national scale study.
Abstract
Background
Retail clinics are largely staffed by nurse practitioners (NPs) and are a popular
destination for nonemergent care.
Purpose
We examined if there was a relationship between NP practice regulations and retail
clinic growth after the passage of a scope of practice (SOP) reform bill in Pennsylvania.
Methods
General linear regression models were used to compare retail clinic openings in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, and Maryland between 2006 and 2013.
Discussion
From 2006 to 2008, Pennsylvania experienced a significant growth rate in net retail
clinic openings per capita (p = .046), whereas New Jersey and Maryland experienced no significant increase (p = .109 and .053, respectively). From 2009 to 2013, Pennsylvania opened 0.20 clinics
(p = .129), New Jersey opened 0.23 clinics (p = .086), and Maryland opened 0.34 clinics per capita per year (p = .017).
Conclusions
Our study of three states with varying levels of SOP restraint reveals an association
between relaxation of practice regulations and retail clinic growth.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 16, 2016
Accepted:
November 6,
2016
Received in revised form:
October 27,
2016
Received:
April 23,
2015
Footnotes
This study was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program (71249; principal investigators: J.M.B.C. and K.W.N.).
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
