Nurse practitioners can write prescriptions
New law in state ends longstanding debate
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Advanced practice nurses with significant clinical experience will not be able to order prescription medication and devices in New Jersey without the supervision of a doctor, under a new a law signed by Governor Mikie Sherrill on Monday, March 30. [2026]
.....
The measure ends a longstanding debate in health care over how much responsibility should be given to advanced practice nurse, who have become an integral part of primary care at a time when the number of doctors in primary care is falling.
..... The new law requires a nurse who already has a master's degree or doctorate to have at least 5,000 hours of practice seeing patients before being exempt form a "joint protocol" that requires a doctor's oversight for prescriptions.
..... The law also allows advanced practice nurses to write prescription for patients who work in obstetrics.
..... Supporters, including associations, Planned Parenthood and AARP, say it will cut down on unnecessary delays, shorten wait times for care and give more residents access to more affordable care.
..... Opponents, including many medical association, say doctors are a needed layer to ensure that prescription are correctly issues to the right patient with the right conditions.
..... Sherril sided with nurses. "At a time when the health care industry is facing significant workforce shortages ... the last thing we need is more barriers to practicing and accessing health care in New Jersey," she said in a statement.
..... More New Jersey patients are seeing advanced practice nurses, also called nurse practitioners, as the first point of contact in the health care system than ever before.
..... Their ranks in the sate rose form 12,107 in 2021 to 16,317 in 2024, but the number of primary care physicians dropped to 5,300 in 2023 from about 6,500 in 2018 - one of the lowest concentrations in the United States. Low private and government insurance reimbursements for primary care in New Jersey have been cited as a reason for the low number of doctors in family medicine and other primary practices.
..... The movement to grant nurse practitioners "full practice' privileges began 30 years ago in less densely populated states such as Alaska and Oregon, where many residents didn't have access to doctors. It has since grown to 27 states, including may in the northeast.