Would a Physician Assistant by Any Other Name Add Any More or Less Value to Your UC Operation?

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners (known collectively as advanced practice providers, or APPs) provide significant care in UCCs across the country. Given that they typically are paid less than physicians while also having the training to perform relatively complex tasks, many view them as indispensable to the success of an urgent care center. It should be of interest, then, that a movement has been afoot for several years now for PAs to change their title to “physician associate,” ostensibly because it would be more representative of their function in clinical practice. It may take some time (and lobbying even within their own ranks) for the idea to take hold in urgent care and other settings, however. As reported by Medscape, only 40% of PAs favor the title change, though another 45% neither favor or oppose the idea. Not surprisingly, just 15% oppose it. The American Academy of Physician Associates already voted to adopt physician associate as the official title in 2021, though the group has not recommended that PAs use the new term in clinical practice pending adoption by jurisdictions governing their licensure. According to the Medscape piece, 90% of PAs still use the title physician assistant.