Impediments to progress in health care workforce policy: license and practice laws

Abstract

Any meaningful reform of health care delivery will have to overcome current barriers to effective utilization of nonphysician providers. These barriers include cultural and professional realities, as well as a number of explicit legal impediments. Medical practice acts remain overly broad and indeterminate, with concomitant and unnecessary restrictions in the licensure and practice acts of nonphysician providers. If we are to achieve our goal of offering high-quality care, at an affordable cost, to everyone who needs it, we must ensure that all health care providers are able to practice within the full scope of their professional competencies.