Patient willingness to be seen by a physician associate in Ireland

Abstract

Background: The physician associate (PA) role was piloted in Dublin, Ireland between 2015 and 2017. However, the concept of a PA and the acceptance of their role in Ireland had not been explored. Objective: To investigate the willingness of Irish citizens to be seen by a PA based on medical scenarios in a typical clinical setting. Design: A mixed methods study was undertaken. A preference survey, with three medical scenarios, gave participants a choice to be treated by a PA or a doctor, with two time trade-off options offered. Responses were supported with qualitative text. Four hundred people were invited to participate as surrogate patients. Setting and participants: In 2017 a total of 270 respondents took part in the study (67.5%) in two hospitals (one private and one public) in Dublin. The mean age was 60; male (n = 142) and female (n = 128) respondents. Findings: In total, 95% of the respondents chose to see a PA over a doctor based on the scenarios presented and a wait time of 30 minutes. Wait time, trust, competency and the severity or seriousness of the medical condition were categorized into three themes for choosing the PA over the doctor. The "surrogate patient" decisions made by this sample were influenced by knowing that the PA is supervised and can check decisions with his/her supervizing physician. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with studies carried out in other countries where willingness to be seen by a PA is neither age nor gender specific. Patient preference seems to concur around the importance of trust and confidence in the medical provider.

Paramedics and Physician Assistants in Israel

“…One of the characteristics of the PA concept is the relationship between the PAs and physicians. In Ireland the definition of a PA is: "a healthcare professional trained in medicine who works as part of a medical team in partnership with doctors to provide medical care to patients" [18]. Outside of the military, the PA is generally not autonomous and instead defines him or herself as a team memberwith the physician central to the group.…”

Introducing the physician associate role in Ireland: Evaluation of a hospital based pilot project

“…Table 1 identified results such as enhanced efficiency, additional data were collected on other aspects of their utilisation. This included staff attitudes to the PA role, patient willingness to be seen by a PA, [21] and patient satisfaction with the PA role where the role was piloted. An online survey to measure staff attitudes to the introduction of the PA role was set up at Time 1 -when staff were unfamiliar with the role, and again 2 years later (Time 2).…”

Experience of the Irish physician associate role: PA and supervising consultant perspectives

“…Because the role is so new, very little published information exists on these few Irish-trained PAs [18] or the impact of the PA role in Ireland thus far. To date, most of the focus has been on the patient perspective, [19,20] however more information is needed from the PA and supervising physicians' perspectives. Given this, the current study uses in-person semi-structured interviews with PAs and supervising consultants in Dublin and seeks to better understand the Irish PA scope of clinical practice, acceptance by physicians, and integration into the Irish healthcare system.…”