One implication of the Affordable Care Act is that health maintenance will have greater emphasis as it’s thought that keeping a person healthy is less expensive than treating a sick one.  In that role, nurse practitioners may be as efficient as physicians—for medication adherence, diet and exercise adherence/coaching, and patient education, all of which can be amplified through telemedicine/telehealth.  On that count, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners is seeking medical practice laws which increase their scope of care.  Shortage of primary care physicians makes this even more compelling. MORE