Policy & Regulation News

NCCPA head: Value-based care not new to physician assistants

By Elizabeth Snell

- Moving from fee-for-service to value-based care is a significant change for healthcare organizations and providers. However, this is common practice for physician assistants (PAs), according to an expert in the field.

Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed.D, PA-C, president and CEO of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) explained in an interview with RevCycleIntelligence that the idea of value-based care is hardly a new concept to PAs.

“That’s the model we’ve practiced under since our inception,” Morton-Rias said, adding that PAs have always been educated to provide high-quality care directly to patients.

It is more important to provide comprehensive service, Morton-Rias explained, than focus on volume or being fast-paced. In addition to proper healthcare treatment and management, PAs also value patient education and empowerment. That way, patients receive information in a way that they can understand.

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  • “That’s how our profession has been even before it became sexy to be value-added or quality focused,” Morton-Rias said. “We have to just continue to stay on message in that regard and not get caught up with the tides changing or trends.”

    If an NCCPA report is any indication, that message will continue strongly as the PA field is expected to grow. There were approximately 43,500 certified PAs at the end of 2003, according to the 2013 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants. Moreover, the profession grew 219 percent over the next 10 years, reaching 95,583 certified PAs at the end of 2013. The NCCPA estimates that there will be more than 125,000 certified PAs before the end of 2018.

    In terms of education, Morton-Rias explained that PAs are educated in a medical model, which means they have a curriculum and education process that is very similar to and in line with the way physicians are educated.

    “PAs are medical providers that perform many of the same tasks, duties and responsibilities provided by licensed physicians,” Morton-Rias explained. “PAs obtain patient history, perform physical examinations, order and interpret diagnostic studies, prescribe medications, treat and manage patients in collaboration with physicians.”

    In her experience, and according to national data, Morton-Rias said that PA graduates are employed usually within three months of graduation. Additionally, most PA graduates have two or three employment opportunities to choose from after they graduate.

    That trend is also only likely to increase, according to Morton-Rias, as more Americans become insured and have their healthcare paid for. The demand for high-quality services will increase, which will positively affect the outlook for PAs, she said.

    That is in line with projections from the US Department of Labor Statistics, which reported that the demand for PAs is expected to increase 38 percent in the next decade. This is likely due to changes in the nation’s healthcare system, as it works to expand access to more patients, the NCCPA explained in a statement. These extra patients include millions who are newly-insured, as well as aging baby boomers.

    With October 6 to October 12 being National PA week, Morton-Rias stated that she hopes individuals understand that PAs are committed to the improved health and wellness of the population. PAs work in collaboration and in partnership with physicians to ensure that healthcare is high-quality and accessible, she said.

    “We’re part of the medical team to ensure that every person has access to affordable, high-quality care,” Morton-Rias said. “We celebrate PA week to make it nationally known that we are a viable and complementary part of the healthcare landscape.”