Health Care : Current Reviews

How PAs and NPs contribute to chronic disease management in primary care

2^nd Annual Congress and Medicare Expo on Primary Care & General Pediatrics

September 19-20, 2016 Phoenix, USA

Bettie Coplan

Arizona State University School for the Science of Health Care Delivery, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Health Care: Current Reviews

Abstract:

The US health care system is facing complex challenges: an increasing and aging population, a paradigm shift from acute care to management of chronic disease, and impending shortages of physicians. Proposed solutions include greater reliance on teambased models of care delivery and creating environments in which health care professionals practice to the full extent of their education and training. Currently in the US, physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) contribute substantially to the provision of primary care services and chronic disease management, particularly in underserved communities where they often practice with little or no physician oversight. Nurse practitioners have full independent practice status in 21 states, and state laws that dictate PA practice generally allow for off-sight physician supervision. Research suggests that PAs and NPs can provide safe, high-quality care. In some settings, however, they may be underutilized. The main objectives of this presentation are to 1) review the recent literature on chronic disease management by PAs and NPs, 2) discuss the various roles NPs and PAs play in primary care, 3) examine barriers to PA and NP practice in primary care, and 4) discuss strategies for effective utilization of NPs and PAs going forward.

Biography :

Email: bcoplan@asu.edu