Dissertation Defense: The Contribution of Nurse Practitioners to Ambulatory Specialty Care

Few studies have examined the nurse practitioner (NP) role in specialty care, even though the presence of NPs in these settings has grown by about a third over the past decade.  Furthermore, it is increasingly important to understand the role, practice environment, activities and contributions of all members of the healthcare team, including NPs, in light of the recent adoption of health policy legislation that has created value-based payment models partially tied to health care quality.  This study  examines the unique contributions of NPs to ambulatory specialty care beyond billable visits, presents approximate time spent on non-billable activities, and explores differences in practice environment between primary care and non-primary care NPs in California.