The American Academy of Physician Assistants and American College of Physicians have released a study that supports the roles played by physicians and physician assistants in improving access to high-quality primary care.
“Internists and Physician Assistants: Team-based Primary Care” argues that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will result in additional patients, while at the same time the number of primary care and other healthcare professionals is shrinking.
Officials say new treatment paradigms are emerging and the collaborative effort strongly supports the patient-centered medical home, an interdisciplinary team-based model for care delivery that facilitates partnerships among individual patients, their personal physicians and other healthcare professionals and, when appropriate, the patient’s family.
“Collaborative practice is fundamental to this model and is at the core of the PA profession,” said AAPA President Stephen Hanson. “PAs working with physicians have a unique relationship and, as a team, play a critical role in improving access to high quality, cost-effective, patient-centered care. PAs practice with physician supervision and their training is modeled on physician education. These characteristics make it easy for them to be incorporated into multidisciplinary healthcare teams.”
The AAPA and ACP both support national and state legislation that allows full use of PAs in clinical teams and promotes flexible team decision-making at the practice level.
“This monograph highlights the commitments of both AAPA and ACP to enhancing the strong partnership between PAs and internists,” said ACP President J. Fred Ralston, Jr., MD. “We will continue to work together to improve healthcare for patients and the practitioners who serve them.”