Optimal Medical Therapy in Small Towns: The Central Role of Nurse Practitioners
You have read extensively on this site about the central role of teams in providing optimal medical therapy (OMT) for cardiometabolic conditions. By now you also know that these teams provide much better clinical and financial outcomes. But you also have a question. How could this idea apply to my small town, rural, or disadvantaged population. That is the beauty of it. Nurse practitioners using a protocol and systems provide the best care in serious cardiometabolic disease.
Nurse practitioners can practice independently in about half of the states in the US. Most of those states are in the West and Northeast. Especially in the west, there are many small towns separated by long distances. There are many people in this country who don’t have reasonable access to OMT but a single nurse practitioner can make all the difference. They make it possible for small towns and rural areas to have best in class care for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes. They can be the face of the team in those settings.
In this case the other members of the team and the systems are virtual. A central hub provides the protocols, mental health support, population health tool, systems, and updated education along with clinical and financial analytics. The nurse practitioner provides the face to face care. We are a central hub with national reach. If you are a nurse practitioner in a rural setting or small town and you would like to provide OMT consistently for your patients, contact us. We can make your work easier and more effective. whbester@gmail.com