FAQs about Nurses and business

  1. Can nurses set up independent businesses?

    2. While some states preclude nurses from setting up professional corporations, many states allow nurses to set up corporations dedicated to health concerns. Nurses, particularly advanced practice nurses, have set up retail clinics, corporate wellness programs, specialized nursing care programs, nurse risk management concerns, etc., CarsonCompany, LLC can provide you with a comprehensive analysis of the laws and regulations applicable to nurse businesses to include review of state practice acts, state corporations laws, state insurance and health laws related to reimbursement and credentialing and other laws related to unique business structures.

  2. I thought nurse practitioners could not practice without collaborators or supervisors. How can advanced practice nurses set up businesses without collaborators?

    3. The manner and method of practice depends upon the state where the business has been established. Some states allow nurses in advanced practice to work independently, and in those instances, APNs or APRNs do not need collaborators or supervisors for nursing practice based businesses. In those instances where nurse practitioners are required to have collaborators or supervisors, and the nurse is involved in a care-based business, the nurse typically hires a physician or partners with a physician to provide the services.

  3. Nursing thought leaders and their services?

    4. Nurses provide unique, creative perspectives on health problems; and offer different methods to address corporate health and wellness concerns. From wellness programs to nursing hotlines, nurses attempt to think through and provide creative, cost effective options. Carson Company, LLC has a database of creative thinkers; innovators to work with corporate America to address provide options for caring for employees and improving the bottom line.

  4. Nurses as prescribers – how do they improve health delivery and care?

    5. Nurses in advanced practice in all states are able to prescribe drugs and medical devices. Of those who are authorized to prescribe, APNs or APRNs write approximately 27,000,000 prescriptions per year; and are the fastest category of prescribers in the country. Other nurses and nurse practitioners often recommend drugs for patients of collaborating physicians. Nurses in advanced practice in the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries also prescribe. These nurses provide a snapshot of how nurses prescribe and how not just nurse, but physicians provide care. Carson Company, LLC has identified and developed a database of prescribers who have been innovators in prescriptive practice, who study drugs related to their specialty and have perspectives on how certain drugs can be best utilized and marketed.

  5. Reimbursement for nursing services, can nurses obtain full reimbursement for providing primary care?

    6. Although most states follow the practices of CMS for nonphysician Medicare providers and determine reimbursement for advanced practice nurses based upon the service and whether the care is provided directly or in a supervised relationship, some states any willing provider laws or anti-discrimination laws have been read to require insurance companies to properly credential and reimburse APN or APRN practices. And, with the proliferation of retail clinics which use nurse practitioners and provide non-urgent, primary care, more and more insurance companies are reimbursing for advanced practice nursing services. Again, Carson Company can assist you: 1) determine which insurance companies reimburse advanced practice nursing services in your state; 2) develop strategies to get insurance companies to reimburse advanced practice nurses; 3) work with CMS to incorporate your practice into traditional medical codes; and determine how to maximize reimbursement for nursing services.