Utah has signed a Senate bill into law that will allow nurse practitioners to practice without a supervising physician, KSL reported March 25.
With the new law, nurse practitioners in the state can now open and run their own practices.
Melissa Hinton, APRN, legislative committee co-chair of the Utah Nurse Practitioners, told the news outlet the full authority clause is expected to drive more nurse practitioners to the state, which will help to staff providers in rural areas.
There are still some services NPs will not be able to provide, in which case a specialist referral will be needed.
"We collaborate with all providers across disciplines to make sure that the patient has well-rounded care," Ms. Hinton said. "That means as colleagues, we are working with our physician colleagues and our physician assistant colleagues, and we respect them on the same playing field that we are on."