The Role of Advanced Practice Providers in the Care of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in the United States. NAFLD presents unique challenges to conventional health care delivery. Patients require accurate, efficient risk stratification to both individualize clinical management plans and optimize subspecialty resource allocation The hepatology workforce is grossly outmatched by the demand for NAFLD referrals, however. Advanced practice providers (APPs) may be best suited to meeting the challenges of NAFLD care. This article reviews the nature and scope of APP practice, the specific needs posed by NAFLD, and the evidence supporting the comparative advantages of APPs in optimizing the outcomes of patients with NAFLD. Our goal is to show how APPs are uniquely suited to addressing the needs of patients with NAFLD who are seen in hepatology practice, with an emphasis on training philosophy and behavioral intervention.