Physician Assistant Profession Paper

The physician assistant profession since development has evolved into an ever-improving, efficient means of providing healthcare in the United States. It first began in an attempt to provide supplemental medical evaluation and treatment for patients who would otherwise not receive care due to the shortage of primary healthcare physicians. The first PA program was developed in October 1965 by Eugene A. Stead Jr., M.D., then-chair of the Department of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, with the first recognized graduating class in 1967. Dr. Stead felt that patient access to healthcare could be increased by midlevel practitioners who did not require extensive, excessively(Duke Community & Family Medicine Website, 2016)Click and drag

According to the 2015 “Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants Annual Report” by the NCCPA, there were approximately 80,000 certified PAs at the end of 2010, and this number grew almost 36% reaching nearly 109,000 certified providers in 2015. (National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants [NCCPA], 2015, p. 5) PA-Cs currently practice in all 50 states under a supervising physician. The states having the largest numbers of certified PAs include New York, California and Texas, although Mississippi and Arkansas boasted the highest growth percentage between 2014 and 2015 (National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants [NCCPA], 2015, p. 7)Click and drag to move. The profession has evolved over the years seeing a significant rise in the number of female PAs, (36% female in 1980 vs 67.2% female in 2015) (National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants [NCCPA], 2015, p. 9). Although the majority of certified PAs (86.7%) in 2015 were white with regards to race (National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants [NCCPA], 2015, p. 10), almost 23% of PA-Cs indicated that they communicate with their patients in a language other than English (mostly Spanish), further indicating the increase in use of these providers among underserved populations(National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of people with health insurance has risen, however, the pressure to decrease costs by reducing hospital stays and readmission rates, among others has fortunately been met with a much needed increase in numbers of advanced practitioners including PAs. The Bureau of Labor estimates a 30% rise in the number of working PAs by 2024. The ACA even listed PAs as one of three categories of primary care providers along with doctors and nurse practitioners, recognizing these clinicians as essential to improving the health care process. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also recognize the important role played by physician assistants and have chosen to include them as part of the Quality Payment Program which attaches quality healthcare to reimbursement rates (Corley,