Physician assistants help fill gap in primary care needs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 10 percent of physicians practice in rural areas, where about 20 percent of the U.S. population lives. And as that population ages, the need for health care increases. Rural residents are also limited by lack of transportation, extreme weather, social isolation and poverty.

A Missouri law that took effect in August aims to address those issues, at least in part.

The law gives physician assistants more freedom to provide care in areas of Missouri with a shortage of doctors.

Physician assistants, commonly referred to as PAs, are certified to provide care with the supervision of a doctor. PAs are qualified to provide many primary care services, including performing physical examinations, diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting lab tests, and providing patient education and counseling.

Under Missouri's new law, a supervising doctor can be up to 50 miles away from where his PA is practicing. Doctors also will have to spend only half of a day on site for every 14 days a physician assistant practices. Previously, PAs were required to be supervised by a doctor within 30 miles of where they practice, and a doctor must be present 66 percent of the time they are caring for patients.

Supporters of the change said it allows physician assistants to provide more affordable care for people living in rural areas or in urban areas with understaffed clinics. According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, about 17 percent of PAs practice in rural areas.

In 2013, there were 828 PAs practicing in Missouri, but that number is likely to grow as part of a national trend. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is one of the fastest growing career fields nationwide.

The average length of a PA program is 27 months, according to the AAPA.

The PA educational program is modeled on the medical school curriculum, a combination of classroom and clinical instruction. Applicants to PA programs must complete at least two years of college courses in basic science and behavioral science as prerequisites to PA school, analogous to premedical studies required of medical students. And in order to retain certification, a PA must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

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Did you know...

Employment of physician assistants is projected to grow 38 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Increased demand for health care services from the growing and aging population and widespread chronic disease, combined with a shortage of physicians, will result in increased demand for health care providers, such as physician assistants.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics