Ensuring that interprofessional health care teams have a mix of skilled professionals to meet patient need, safely and effectively. Like a number of other countries, the UK have been exploring the contribution physician assistants (PAs), who are well established in the US, can make to interprofessional teams. In a study recently published in the J Interprof Care investigated the employment of PAs in primary care and their contribution through an electronic, self report, survey. Sixteen PAs responded, who were working in a variety of types of general practice teams. A range of activities were reported but the greatest proportion of their time was described as seeing patients in booked surgery appointments for same day/urgent appointments. The scope of the survey was limited and questions remain as to patient and professional responses to a new professional group within an interprofessional primary care context.
For more information see: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2012.686538