The costs of training a Nurse Practitioner in primary care: the importance of allowing for the cost of education and training when making decisions about changing the professional-mix

摘要

Curtis and Netten (2007) have provided a much needed up-to-date analysis of the training costs for preparing a nurse to work as a nurse practitioner in primary care in comparison to a general practitioner. Their headline figure of the total hourly cost of a nurse practitioner being pound 36 compared with pound 82 for a general practitioner is in stark contrast to the respective nurse practitioner vs. general practitioner consultation costs of pound 30.35 and pound 28.14 presented in a similar comparative cost study by Hollinghurst et al. (2006). However, the data used by Hollinghurst et al. (2006) were collected prior to 2001, and hence there applicability to contemporary advanced nursing must be questioned. In this context, Curtis and Netten's (2007) study is a welcome addition to the growing body of evidence supporting nurse practitioners working in primary health care as it based on more recent research carried out in 2004-5.