Scope of Practice Laws Affecting Team‐Based Heart Disease Care in Rural America: Policy Challenges and Opportunities

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States with a disproportionate impact in rural America, and health worker shortages contribute to these disparities. Team‐based heart disease care models can help mitigate health worker shortages, but lack of role clarity and restrictive scope of practice laws can be a barrier to their implementation.

Methods

Three policy opportunities to address the identified gaps include: (1) linking licensed scope of practice definitions to the scope of accredited training curricula, (2) shifting away from collaborative practice agreements to define licensed scope of practice, and (3) prohibiting insurance plans from conditioning reimbursement based solely on provider cadre.