Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
NPs and PAs (Physicians Assistants) are the future for primary care. Have 1-2 MDs overseeing 10-20 of these people and you have your basic care handled.
Most people don't have major health issues but yet cannot get seen in a timely manner. It's not that different down here with private health care. Have a tiered system in terms of expertise and need and you could easily fix a lot of issues. MDs are there for anything more serious than your normal day to day illnesses/injuries. Elevate it to an MD appointment when the PA or NP cannot handle the case.
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Physicians need to be in front of the diagnoses and medical treatments. NPs are absolutely not qualified to take care of those things. Physicians would also prefer to be in front of actual diagnoses and more complex scenarios, part of the reason why they're tied up and long wait times exist is because they are actively dealing with routine things at NPs and other primary caregivers can provide.
There are people in this thread that say there are lots of anecdotal evidence for physicians trying to protect their jobs, but I can throw anecdotes right back and say that's absolutely not the case because physicians who know their position also know what the position of nurse practitioners can do. A lot of physiciand do not want to be tied up with the minutia of administrative and routine work. That's the kind of stuff that gets them burnt out and want to leave and find other areas of work or specialization.
Things like routine prescription refills, basic first aid and medication and nursing care while waiting for physicians are what NPs can take care of. That's it. NPs are definitely not medical doctors, not qualified to do what physicians can do, and work best under the supervision and oversight of an MD.