Trends in Emergency Department Care by Physician Assistants

PAs saw roughly the same percentage of ED patients each year over an 8-year study span.

The role of physician assistants (PAs) in the emergency department (ED) has become increasingly controversial. To identify any changes in the volume of patients seen by PAs in the ED over time, researchers queried the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which included 450 hospitals that received approximately 1 billion ED visits from 2010 to 2017.

During the study period, ED volumes increased 7%. PAs saw approximately 5% of all ED patients alone and another 8.2% with physician involvement, while physicians saw 76.3% of ED patients alone (the remainder of the patients were not allocated by the authors/database). There was no significant change in the percentage of visits involving PAs over the study period. Higher PA involvement…

Reviewing Author

Benton R. Hunter, MD

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair, Evidence Based Healthcare Interest Group)

Benton R. Hunter, MD

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair, Evidence Based Healthcare Interest Group)

Trends in Emergency Department Care by Physician Assistants

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Reviewing Author