title: Survey shows consumers open to a greater role for physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
abstract: Impending physician shortages in the United States will necessitate greater reliance on physician assistants and nurse practitioners, particularly in primary care. But how willing are Americans to accept that change? This study examines provider preferences from patients' perspective, using data from the Association of American Medical Colleges' Consumer Survey. We found that about half of the respondents preferred to have a physician as their primary care provider. However, when presented with scenarios wherein they could see a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner sooner than a physician, most elected to see one of the other health care professionals instead of waiting. Although our findings provide evidence that US consumers are open to the idea of receiving care from physician assistants and nurse practitioners, it is important to consider barriers to more widespread use, such as scope-of-practice regulations. Policy makers should incorporate such evidence into solutions for the physician shortage.
authors.affiliation: Center for Workforce Studies, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Washington, DC, USA. mdill@aamc.org
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dill
authors.forename: Stacie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pankow
authors.forename: Clese
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Erikson
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shipman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D057240:Patient Preference; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000600:supply & distribution* / Q000639:trends; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Consumer Issues; Nurse Practitioner; Physician Assistant; Physicians; Workforce Issues