"If you have a chronic illness, choose a practice with a dedicated staff registered nurse (RN). Whether you choose to go to a traditional family practice physician or a larger group practice, make sure the staff includes an RN whose role specifically includes dealing with patients who have a chronic condition, say Farbstein. That way, if the doctor is unavailable, the nurse can help with any problems or answer questions. You also want a practice with an organized office staff since you'll be working with them to arrange prescriptions, appointments and treatments."
We think it's great advice - kudos to Women's Day for recognizing the important role of nurses!
It’s true that access to skilled nursing, including a staff RN, can help a patient get more consistent continual care within a specific practice, but the role of nurses can actually go much further than that. Patients who have ongoing healthcare needs have often found out that having access to a nurse as a “secondary provider” can be extremely helpful and generate less medical bills over time. What this means is that if the patient has access to a nursing department by phone, that person can often avoid excessive office visits or problems with medications and prescriptions through utilizing phone contact with the nursing department. Also, as implied here, having an RN on staff can often help patients avoid having to go out of network for care if a doctor is temporarily unavailable.
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