Nurse Practitioner Practice Regulations and Psychotropic Medication Dispensing for Medicaid-Insured Adults

This study assessed the impact of Maryland's Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority Act of 2015 on psychotropic medication dispensing for Medicaid-insured adults treated by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physicians. A piecewise regression analysis of 168,509 Medicaid enrollees found that after this policy implementation, individuals were more likely to receive newly dispensed psychotropic medications from psychiatric-mental health NPs and from other NPs without a psychiatric specialty and were less likely to receive these medications from psychiatrists and from other medical doctors. Individuals treated by other NPs were more likely to reside in nonmetropolitan areas. The findings highlight the increasing role of NPs in initiating psychotropic medication regimens for Medicaid-insured adults under this policy.