Missouri’s health care worker shortage

The state of Missouri is suffering a number of shortages and one such shortage is primary care professionals. Missouri has 114 counties and of those 109 of them have insufficient health care workers.

This issue is most notable in rural parts of the state but also effects metropolitan areas. One solution is to allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) to fill these gaps and serve in need rural communities.

“We have in-state nurse practitioners in every county but one,” one APRN said. “We feel like we could fill the shortage because we have a huge shortage of doctors in the state.” But, in the state of Missouri if an APRN wanted to provide care or start a practice they are required to be located within a 75 mile radius of a collaborating physician who oversees the practice and signs off on care plans.

This creates a problem of access for rural Missourians who are commonly not located within that radius. A new bill has be proposed to the house that would scrap the geographic requirements. This would allow APRNs free rein to get to communities that are currently out of reach. Those opposed to the bill argue that it is imperative to maintain a standard of care, and that such a standard could only be upheld with the oversight of a fully licensed doctor.