Do the Math: Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice Must Multiply

The expanding role of nurse practitioners will have to expand to fill the gap created by a physician shortage and to release some of the pressures on a system that's over-priced, over-burdened, and under-resourced.

The average primary care physician today carries an annual caseload of approximately 2,400 patients, requiring physicians to see patient after patient throughout the day at a breakneck pace. Even though there are many more diagnostic codes and therapies than ever before, the average patient spends far less time with his or her physician than at any time in the past.

In the next 20 years, both the number of people aged 65 and older, and the percentage of the U.S. population they represent, will increase substantially. Chronic illness affects over 80 percent of older adults and consumes disproportionate resources. Almost a quarter of older adults have five or more chronic conditions, regularly visit 13 different physicians, and fill over 50 prescriptions annually.