Physician associate changes will give patients more clarity

Last year, our research highlighted that one in five people don't understand the difference between a physician associate and a doctor.

We also found that some patients were not informed of who they were seeing before or during their appointment. In some instances, patients who had specially asked to see a doctor were instead assigned to see a PA.

Our call for greater clarity on physician associates' roles contributed to the Government's establishment of an independent review of the safety and effectiveness of associates.

The review, led by Professor Gillian Leng, heard evidence from patient and professional organisations, including Healthwatch. We also sat on an advisory stakeholder group to the review to help inform its work.

The final report makes several recommendations that should help clarify the difference between doctors and physician associates for patients.

These include changing physician associates' names to physician assistants, wearing clothing and badges that distinguish them from doctors and providing better information for the public. 

Professor Leng also recommended that new patients be seen only after they have been triaged by a doctor and deemed to have a minor ailment.

The government has accepted the review’s findings in full.

Responding to the review, our Chief Executive, Louise Ansari, said: 

"We welcome the recommendations that have been made, which should give the public much greater clarity on the role of physician associates and how they can help. 

"New roles in the NHS do make a difference to patients, enabling more people to be seen more quickly when they have a minor ailment. People often also report a good care experience when they understand the role of the person providing it. 

"However, a significant minority of the public has been confused about the difference between a physician associate and a doctor and confidence has also been affected by a small but tragic number of patient deaths after contact with associates. When people think they are seeing a doctor and it turns out to be a physician's associate, this can create mistrust or inconvenience, as PAs cannot prescribe medication and may need to wait for a doctor to sign this off.

"The recommendations, when implemented, should do much to improve public understanding and patient safety.”