Full Scope of Practice for Alabama Nurse Practitioners: Act Now

Restrictive collaborative practice regulations for nurse practitioners have been the subject of discussion for more than 30 years. Although many states have enacted full practice authority for nurse practitioners, others retain dated laws with various levels of required physician involvement. Restricted controlled substance prescriptive authority is one aspect of restrictive collaborative practice. Alabama nurse practitioners are permitted to prescribe controlled substances II–V with varying levels of restriction depending on the compound. The removal of these restrictions would increase access to needed health care and lower the cost of care without sacrificing care quality.