Nurse Practitioners can be Canada’s solution to health care gaps: CFNU study

Nurse Practitioners can be the solution to Canada’s longstanding shortage of primary care providers, the country’s issues with long wait times and access, and the challenges of helping underserved populations, a new study by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions indicates.

The report – entitled Fulfilling Nurse Practitioners’ Untapped Potential in Canada’s Health Care System – was presented to Canada’s health ministers and policy advisors today in Winnipeg by leaders of the country’s nurses unions affiliated with CFNU.

“The findings in this report chart a path forward for governments to tap into the potential of NPs and improve access, from primary and long-term care to mental health and acute care,” said CFNU President Linda Silas in a meeting with policy makers at the annual Federal, Provincial and Territorial Health Ministers Summit.

The CFNU commissioned the study to understand why Canada has failed to take advantage of NPs’ full potential. It looked at how limited employment opportunities, inappropriate remuneration, outdated funding models, lack of inter-professional collaboration and legislative and regulatory barriers can negatively impact NPs.

“The evidence reveals that NPs improve access to holistic, cost-effective, high-quality care that reduces wait times and costs throughout the broader health system,” said Lisa Little, the study’s lead researcher. “With a supply of only about 14 NPs per 100,000 Canadians – one fifth of the per capita supply in the U.S. – there is a great potential for NPs to meet Canada’s growing health care needs.”

Click here to read the CFNU news release announcing this study.

Click here to read the report.