The ranks of physician assistants are growing rapidly, helping health care providers treat more patients, say authors of a new report.

The United States had more than 83,000 physician assistants last year, about double the number of a decade ago, according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Assistants often perform the same tasks as primary care doctors such as conducting physical exams, diagnosing illnesses, and ordering and interpreting tests.

"PAs are the only health care providers educated and credentialed with a primary care focus, providing a strong foundation for any specialty in which they may choose to practice," says Robert Wooten, president of the AAPA.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.