CALGARY -- A temporary change to the regulations governing nurse practitioners will allow the health professionals to assess patients, prescribe medication and order treatment in nursing homes in Alberta.
The modified rules — designed to strengthen care for nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic — are scheduled to remain in place until Aug. 14, unless the province's emergency public health order is lifted before then.
"Nurse practitioners’ advanced skills and knowledge are needed now more than ever," said Health Minister Tyler Shandro in a statement released Monday morning. "Removing barriers so they can fulfil their role as independent primary care providers in nursing homes is part of our commitment to do everything we can to protect Alberta’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Several nursing homes and senior care centres in Alberta have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus and have declared outbreaks. In early April, the chief medical officer of health ordered a provincewide ban on visitors to long-term care centres unless a resident was dying or in need of essential care that staff could not deliver.
"We look forward to working with government and AHS to reduce regulatory red tape and identify more ways nurse practitioners can help meet the province’s health-care needs," said Mary-Elizabeth Cooper, president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta, in a statement.
In Alberta, nurse practitioners are registered nurses who are permitted to diagnose and treat health conditions and minor injuries, make referrals, order lab tests and prescribe drugs when working in hospitals, clinics or home care. Prior to Monday's modification of regulations, nurse practitioners were limited in the type of care they could offer in nursing homes.
According to the province, there are more than 300 nurse practitioners working in Alberta.
