title: Is it economically viable to employ the nurse practitioner in general practice?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article provides insight into the potential economic viability of nurse practitioner employment in Dutch general practices.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  General practitioners face the challenging task of finding the most efficient and effective mix of professionals in general practice to accommodate future care demands within scarce health care budgets. To enable informed decision-making about skill mix issues, economic information is needed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Discursive paper.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive and explorative design was chosen to study the economic viability of nurse practitioner employment in general practice. The conditions under which the nurse practitioner is able to earn back his/her own cost of employment were identified. Preferences and expectations of general practitioners and health insurers about nurse practitioner reimbursement were made transparent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although general practitioners and health insurers acknowledge the importance of the nurse practitioner in accommodating primary care demands, they have polarised views about reimbursement. The employment of nurse practitioners is seldom economically viable in current practices. It requires a reallocation of (80% of) the general practitioner's freed up time towards practice growth (12% number of patients).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The economic viability of the nurse practitioner has proven difficult to achieve in every day health care practice. This study provided insight into the complex interaction of the (cost) parameters that result in economic viability and feeds a further discussion about the content of the nurse practitioner role in general practice based on optimal quality of care vs. efficiency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective and efficient health care can only be provided if the actual care needs of a population provide the basis for deciding which mix of professionals is best equipped to deal with the changing and increasing demand of care. A macro-level intervention is needed to help a broad-scale introduction of the nurse practitioner in general practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Care, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Angelique T M
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Dierick-van Daele
authors.forename: Lotte M G
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Steuten
authors.forename: Arla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romeijn
authors.forename: Emmy W C C
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Derckx
authors.forename: Hubertus J M
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Vrijhoef
mesh_terms: D058006:General Practice / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D009426:Netherlands; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000191:economics*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000191:economics*; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires