The debate about increasing the scope of practice for advanced practice clinicians is a heated one. It turns out, however, that doctors and advanced practice clinicians are just as likely to provide low-quality care, according to a recent study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
In their analysis of nearly 26,000 physician visits and more than 3,400 visits with advanced practice clinicians, which include nurse practitioners and physician assistants, researchers discovered that both doctors and advanced practice clinicians were equally likely to order unnecessary care, such as antibiotics or X-rays.
The study results shoot down the argument advanced by some physicians that advanced practice clinicians provide less quality care, John Mafi, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine and health services research at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, told Forbes.
“Our main finding, that nurse practitioners and physician assistants are no worse than doctors in this way, is reassuring in light of recent efforts to expand advanced practice clinicians’ scope of practice and while the primary care physician workforce continues to shrink,” said Mafi in a statement.
As the demand for primary care doctors continues to grow, advanced practice clinicians could help “pick up the slack,” say researchers. Further, as accountable care organizations and other types of value-based care arrangements take hold, insurers see an increased role for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, reports Forbes.
- read the study abstract