patients than doctors are. Patients also appreciate that nurse practitioners can usually spend longer with them than their doctors do, and this allows for more exchange of information between them. Nurse practitioners can provide such services as physical examinations, health-promotion activities, health education, data analysis, treatment plan development and implementation, and promote knowledge of available community services to patients (Thomas, 2001).
Hooker (2002) cites a study comparing nonphysician providers with physicians which found that they both provided equal care when taking into account nurse practitioners with the same degree of independence as physicians, a group not considered in earlier studies. The study compared 1,316 patients randomly assigned to a nurse practitioner or physician for primary care, followup, and ongoing care following emergency room or urgent care treatment. Patients were interviewed six months after their initial visit, and health care records were analyzed after si
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