Advanced Practice Role: Physician Assistant (PA)
Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners: The United States Experience
Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) were introduced in the United States in 1967. As of 2006, there are 110 000 clinically active PAs and NPs (comprising approximately one sixth of the US medical workforce). Approximately 11 200 new PAs and NPs graduate each year. PAs and NPs are well distributed throughout primary care […]
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The Extension of Rheumatology Services with Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners
The development and deployment of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) began in the late 1960s. This has been a social phenomenon that has spread to a number of countries. The original intention was to extend the role of the busy general/family practitioner in providing access and offloading some of the workload in primary […]
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Trends in the Supply of Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners in the United States
In 2001 an estimated 103,612 nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) were in clinical employment in the United States. The roles of PAs and NPs in providing comparable physician services are similar; they differ in that NPs are predominantly in primary care, while PAs are divided between primary and specialty care. PA and NP […]
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Career Flexibility of Physician Assistants and the Potential for More Primary Care
In part because of their core generalist education, physician assistants can change clinical specialties over the course of their work life. This is known as career flexibility. Using medical care providers who can adapt quickly to new opportunities could help alleviate medical workforce shortages in primary care. We studied annual surveys undertaken by the American […]
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Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Prescribing: 1997-2002
Context: Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) have licensure to practice in all states and they have prescriptive authority in 47 and 40 states, respectively. However, there have been no published studies from a national standpoint comparing urban and rural settings. Purpose: The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of providers, […]
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The Productivity Potential of Physicians’ Assistants: An Integrated Approach to Analysis
Although many previous analytical studies indicate that physicians’ assistants can substantially increase productivity and reduce costs, the utilization of physicians’ assistants in ambulatory health care settings has grown at a disappointing rate. This apparent discrepancy may be explained in part through close examination of the models used in the analytical studies. This paper describes the […]
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Practice and Productivity of Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners in Outpatient Oncology Clinics at National Comprehensive Cancer Network Institutions
Purpose: It is expected that over the next 10 to 15 years, demand for oncology services will increase, potentially surpassing the supply of available oncologists. Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) have the potential to address the anticipated shortage in physician supply. The two objectives of this study were to define how National Cancer […]
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A Descriptive Analysis of Factors Influencing Physician Assistant Specialty Selection
This study assessed factors impacting practice selection among primary care and specialty physician assistants (PAs). Certified PAs randomized by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) (30,000) were surveyed, with 2,020 responses (RR = 6.7%). Results showed that factors influencing primary care and specialty selection differ. Increasing reimbursements may not increase selection of […]
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