Every Georgian deserves care close to home
Across Georgia, families and communities face challenges getting timely healthcare close to home.
The Georgia Access to Care Network brings together Georgians who believe everyone deserves access to quality care. We connect community members, patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations who want to stay informed, share their experiences, and make their voices heard.
Together, we're building a statewide network dedicated to improving access to healthcare by supporting Full Practice Authority for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs).
Healthcare access is a challenge across Georgia
Across Georgia, communities face shortages of healthcare providers, longer travel distances for appointments, and limited options for receiving timely care.
These challenges affect families, older adults, children, and people living in both rural and urban communities.
Understanding the problem is the first step toward finding practical solutions.
How Georgia Law Restricts Nurse Practitioner Practice
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners classifies Georgia as a restricted practice state, one of 11 in the country.4 Under current Georgia law:
- Nurse practitioners must maintain a written protocol agreement with a delegating physician to perform certain medical functions and prescribe medications. This creates a legal dependency on physician delegation, even for experienced, nationally certified nurse practitioners.5, 6
- Georgia generally limits a physician to supervising or delegating to the combined equivalent of eight advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants at any one time, with certain exceptions. This requirement can affect how healthcare practices organize their workforce and expand services.5, 7, 8
- When a delegating physician is no longer available, nurse practitioners may need to establish a new protocol agreement to continue prescribing. This can create challenges for maintaining uninterrupted patient services.5, 8
27 states and Washington, D.C. allow full practice authority. None of Georgia's neighbors do, and Georgia is outlined. Source: AANP, 2026.4
What full practice authority means
Full practice authority lets nurse practitioners evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret tests, and start and manage treatment, including prescribing, under the licensing authority of the state board of nursing. It is the model recommended by the National Academy of Medicine and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.4
Improves access
States with full practice authority are more likely to have nurse practitioners working in rural and underserved areas.9
Streamlines care
Patients can see a nurse practitioner directly, without delays created by required contracts with a physician who may never see the patient.9
Reduces costs
Removing mandated oversight arrangements cuts duplicated orders, visits and billing.9
Protects patient choice
Georgians can choose the qualified provider who works best for them and their family.9
What happened in other states
When states removed required physician agreements, their nurse practitioner workforce grew, often fastest where care was hardest to find.
Who we are
By creating a unified space for engagement and shared action, the Network works to ensure that diverse voices are represented in the conversations shaping the future of health care in Georgia.
- Guided by evidenceOur positions rest on published research and public data, and we cite our sources.
- Built on collaborationWe work with lawmakers, providers and patients across the political spectrum.
- Every voice countsRural and urban, patients and professionals: the people affected should shape the solution.
Sources
- Georgia Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health. Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area map (17 of 159 counties not designated).
- Georgia Public Broadcasting, "Nearly every Georgia county faces shortage of primary care providers," January 2023, citing HRSA and KFF data.
- Georgia Public Policy Foundation, "Addressing Georgia's Healthcare Shortage," October 2022.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, State Practice Environment, updated May 2026.
- Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 43-34-25 (2025), Delegation of certain medical acts to advanced practice registered nurse: subsections (a)(10) and (b) on nurse protocol agreements, (g) on the limit and its exceptions, and (m)(2)(B) on a change in delegating physician.
- Rules of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, Chapter 360-32, Nurse Protocol Agreements Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25.
- Georgia General Assembly, House Bill 1046 (2024), as signed by the Governor, amending O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25(g).
- Georgia Composite Medical Board, "Important Information Regarding APRN Protocol Agreements," June 24, 2024.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Issues at a Glance: Full Practice Authority, September 2025.
- Arizona Area Health Education Centers Program, Arizona Rural Health Workforce Trend Analysis, 2011.
- Nevada State Board of Nursing annual reports 2009–2015; Nevada Growth Update: Changes after implementation of Full Practice Authority, 2016.
- Holmes, L. A. R., & Waltman, N. L. (2019). Increased access to nurse practitioner care in rural Nebraska after removal of required integrated practice agreement. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 31(5), 288–292.