NPs, PAs Essential to U.S. Physicians

In the U.S., nurse practitioners (NPs) or physician assistants (PAs) are caring for patients alongside nearly half of all physicians, according to a new government report.

NPs, PAs, and certified nurse midwives (CNMs) worked together with 49.1% of U.S. physicians in 2009. Larger practices and those practices generating a significant amount of revenue from Medicaid patients were often where these practitioners were employed, according to researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics.

To ascertain the following statistics, Melissa Park, MPH, and colleagues studied the 2009 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data. Upon examination, they found:

• In-office NPs, PAs, or CNMs were present in 55.4% of primary care practices, compared to 45.9% of surgical groups
• Many (79.9%) of the large medical practices, those involving 11 or more doctors, employed these practitioners
• A small percentage (37.6%) of practices with only 1 or 2 physicians worked with NPs, PAs, or CNMs
• Supportive caregivers were employed at 68.3% of multispecialty group practices
• Practices earning more revenue from Medicaid were more likely to employ NPs, PAs, or CNMs (53%) compared to practices earning less Medicaid revenue (45.2%)
• On the other hand, fewer PAs, NPs, and CNMs were present in practices with higher Medicare revenue

“The expansion of health insurance coverage, as well as the aging baby-boomer population, are predicted to cause a surge in demand for healthcare services in the coming years,” states Park and colleagues. “Examining the current employment of NPs, CNMs, and PAs in physician offices is important in order to prepare for the future,” they added.

Furthermore, the report states that funds for PA education programs in primary care are allocated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, thus allowing for the number of these practitioners to increase. Therefore, in the future, additional primary care physicians may be working with NPs and PAs, according to the report.

Source: Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Physician Assistants in Physician Offices