Top Reasons to Utilize NP’s/ PA’s

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Due to increase demand practices can benefit greatly by hiring a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. So, let’s start by eliminating some of the common misconceptions people have about using Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.

In some cases, a patient may feel like an NP/ PA is not qualified to give the same care that a physician can give. This is not true. NP’s and PA’s go through extensive schooling and training in order to diagnose and treat patients. The main difference between them and a doctor is NP’s and PA’s work under a doctor’s supervision. This means that they can consult a doctor about a patient’s condition. The use of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants is rising and can help fix the needs that may be unmet by a physician. This does not mean the physician is slacking on their patient care, but a heavy patient load may be dividing the physician’s attention. There’s no better way to fix this problem by using other qualified medical professionals.

Nurse practitioners and Physician assistants can help reduce salary expenses because it costs significantly less to employ an NP or PA than it does to employ a physician. Patient wait time will also be lessened. With an NP or PA on staff, the patients will not have to sit as long in the waiting room for a busy physician. As patient flow increases, the office will run more efficiently. For patients that have questions about preventative strategies NP’s and PA’s are the perfect fit for helping teach patients about obesity, newborn care, hypertension, diabetes etc. Patient compliance will increase and this frees up the doctor to see more patients throughout the day.

NP’s and PA’s can act as an alternate for the physician. If a physician is unable to see a patient and sends in an NP or PA, they are qualified and credentialed to give the same quality of care you would get from a doctor. NP’s and PA’s are trained to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. They both have extensive clinical experience and practice under a variety of specialties. As a patient, you want the best care and NP’s and PA’s are fully qualified to provide that care.

A physician has the ability to train the Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant in the manner that best suits the needs for the practice. This will help patients who may not feel as comfortable seeing an NP or PA have reassurance of their capabilities. In conclusion, physicians can benefit a great deal from utilizing an NP or PA in their practice.

Patient satisfaction is the most important aspect of your medical practice.

In some cases, Physicians might be concerned that an Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant won’t garner the same respect as an MD, but this has proven not to be the case in many instances. Studies have shown NP/PAs score equally with physicians in terms of patient satisfaction. The Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research found that patient satisfaction levels based upon interpersonal care, confidence in the provider and understanding of patient problems ranged between 89 and 96 percent for PAs. Nurse Practioners & Physician Assistants handle many types of office visits that a physician may be too busy to do, including: preventative care services, diagnose conditions, evaluations and therapeutic plans.

If NP/PAs take time to establish relationships with their patients, they can build a positive rapport that will increase satisfaction, accessibility, and productivity. Hiring NPs and PAs are not only a financial benefit, due to the decreased salary expenses, but they also ensure that your medical practice will run more efficiently. If your practice is running more smoothly, then patients will be happy with their quality of care making Nurse Practitioners / Physician Assistants an invaluable benefit to your practice.

To take a look at any open physician assistant or nurse practitioner positions/job descriptions please click on the following link SpineSearch Positions