Nurse practitioners in some states must pay for the right to practice independently — and AI missed a fentanyl theft

—In several US states, nurse practitioners are required to enter costly supervisory agreements and pay fees simply to do their jobs independently, a system critics say restricts care access while enriching supervising physicians. A separate healthcare story highlights how AI drug-monitoring software at Erlanger hospital failed for months to flag a nurse who was stealing fentanyl, despite the technology being specifically designed to catch such diversion. A state nursing board investigation ultimately identified inconsistencies the AI system missed.