PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

But allowing them to care for patients with undiagnosed conditions under indirect supervision may risk patients’ safety, finds a rapid review

2025-07-03
(Press-News.org) Physician associates provide safe and effective care when they work under the direct supervision of doctors and care for patients who have already been diagnosed, or when they undertake procedures for which they have been highly trained, finds a rapid review published in The BMJ today.

However, the rapid review on the safety and effectiveness of physician associates found insufficient evidence to support them assessing undiagnosed patients under indirect supervision—when seeing undiagnosed patients in primary care, for example.

Patient satisfaction levels for care provided by physician associates were similar to those provided by doctors, but there was limited evidence on the cost effectiveness of physician associates.

The rapid review, which was prompted by concerns about the impact of the physician assistant role in the UK, also found that they increased access to care. But this may reflect the benefits of increased staffing rather than the unique contribution of the role, it suggests. In the UK, most have been deployed in socio-economically deprived areas. 

Physician associates are known as physician assistants in most other countries and were first introduced in the US in the 1960s to tackle resident doctor shortages in rural areas. They have since been adopted by many other countries facing medical workforce difficulties and/or cost pressures in their health systems.

In the UK, physician associates require a bachelor’s degree in a science or a health-related discipline plus a diploma or master’s degree in physician assistant studies focusing on the clinical skills necessary to assist doctors in patient care.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges called for a rapid review of the safety, cost effectiveness, and efficiency of physician associates after concerns were raised about the implementation of the role in the UK in six broad areas.

These were: scope of practice; patient safety; informed consent; preferential employment conditions; additional workload of physicians supervising physician associates; and impact on medical training.

In November 2024, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned an independent review of the impact of physician and anaesthesia associates on quality of care from Professor Gillian Leng. 

The rapid review included 40 studies comparing the quality of care delivered by physician associates and doctors in economically developed countries (North America and Europe, plus Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand) using outcomes on safety, effectiveness, patient-centredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity.

Although focused on the UK, the rapid review’s findings would be relevant to the physician associate role in other high income countries, say the authors.

They acknowledge several limitations to findings, most notably that only four of the studies included were carried out in the UK. Most were carried out in the US and were of weak quality, using retrospective analyses of routinely collected data which did not always take confounding factors into account. Few assessed cost-effectiveness and none was conducted in the post-covid healthcare environment.

The authors conclude: “There is a legitimate role for [physician associates] working alongside physicians in well-defined roles under supervision. However, indirect or unsupervised management by [physician associates] of undifferentiated symptoms and disease may risk patient safety.”

They add: “National guidance on the supervision and scope of practice for physician [associates] can ensure that physician [associates] practise safely and effectively.”

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

2025-07-03
The more we interact with robots, the more human we perceive them to become – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. It may sound like a scene from Blade Runner, but psychologists have been investigating exactly what makes robot interactions feel more human. A new paper published today reveals that playing games with robots to ‘break the ice’ can help bring out their human side. The research team say that the implications are significant for the future of robotics. As robots take on roles from care-giving to customer service, designing interactions that promote social engagement ...

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

2025-07-03
Individual expectations about one's health can influence him/her future condition and the speed of the progression of a disease: in fact, a research conducted by researchers of psychology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan campus, shows that, after a diagnosis of asthma, people who are optimistic about their health will have a slower progression of the disease. The study was published in the journal Health Expectations (Wiley) and conducted by full Professor Francesco Pagnini of the Department of Psychology at the Università Cattolica and colleagues. Professor Pagnini explains: “this study was developed in response to ...

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

2025-07-03
When surgeons dissect tissue to remove a tumor or make a repair they must work cautiously, relying on electrophysical monitors and their own anatomical knowledge to avoid cutting nerves, which could complicate the patient’s recovery. A University of New Mexico surgeon has helped develop and test a first-of-its-kind drug that binds to nerve tissue and fluoresces – emits light – enabling surgeons to better see the nerves they’re trying to work around. A newly published study in Nature Communications ...

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

2025-07-03
The latest research published in Genes & Diseases unveils groundbreaking insights into the role of the aging process and the associated factor EMP1 in the progression of resectable pancreatic cancer (PC). The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chongqing Medical University, has established a prognostic model that links EMP1 expression with adverse clinical outcomes, particularly among older PC patients.   Pancreatic cancer remains a highly aggressive ...

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

2025-07-03
  A recent study published in Genes & Diseases reveals a novel role of XPR1 in promoting ovarian cancer growth by regulating autophagy and MHC-I expression. The research, conducted by scientists from Chongqing Medical University, identifies XPR1 as a critical factor influencing the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer through its interaction with LAMP1 and the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. These findings shed light on new therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer, a malignancy known for its poor prognosis and resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors.   The ...

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

2025-07-03
CLEVELAND—Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed an environmentally safer type of plastic that can be used for wearable electronics, sensors and other electrical applications. The material, a so-called ferroelectric polymer, is made without fluorine, considered a “forever” chemical that hurts the environment because compounds made with it don’t break down quickly or at all. Although the researchers are still working to improve the material’s electric and elastic properties, the potential is vast for its flexibility of electronic uses and eco-friendly structure. “How this material ...

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

2025-07-03
Key takeaways Researchers from Penn and Arizona State University pinpoint a lone five-particle package (a 5-plet) that could upend string theory by detecting it at the Large Hadron Collider. “Ghost” tracks that vanish mid-flight may be the smoking gun physicists are chasing. Early data squeeze the search window, but the next collider runs could make—or break—the case. In physics, there are two great pillars of thought that don’t quite fit together. The Standard Model of particle physics describes all known fundamental particles and three forces: electromagnetism, ...

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

2025-07-03
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alexandra Staub, author and professor of architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School at Penn State, examines how architects can better serve society by changing their approach to the building process in her latest book titled “Architecture and Social Sustainability: Understanding the New Paradigm.” Published by Routledge, the book presents examples of “how we can better design for stakeholder agency, serve historically marginalized populations, and further our theoretical thinking about sustainability writ large,” according to the book’s ...

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

2025-07-03
CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University chemist Divita Mathur was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant for her research in synthetic DNA nanoparticles, which have potential applications in gene therapy. The grant will support Mathur’s work in synthesizing nanoparticles and studying how they behave inside cells in a laboratory. She will use single-cell injections and a microscope to track the nanoparticles and watch what happens to them over time ...

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

2025-07-03
Researchers working on an incurable blood cancer can now use a new lab model which could make testing potential new treatments and diagnostics easier and quicker, new research has found.   In a paper published in Nature Communications a team of researchers led from the University of Birmingham have studied blood cells from patients with a blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome disease (MDS). This disease often develops into a highly aggressive form of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).   Working with this new model ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Drones reveal extreme coral mortality after bleaching

New genetic finding uncovers hidden cause of arsenic resistance in acute promyelocytic leukemia

Native habitats hold the key to the much-loved smashed avocado’s future

Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air

Machine learning potential-driven insights into pH-dependent CO₂ reduction

Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor

How game-play with robots can bring out their human side

Asthma: patient expectations influence the course of the disease

UNM physician tests drug that causes nerve tissue to emit light, enabling faster, safer surgery

New study identifies EMP1 as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression and poor prognosis

XPR1 identified as a key regulator of ovarian cancer growth through autophagy and immune evasion

Flexible, eco-friendly electronic plastic for wearable tech, sensors

Can the Large Hadron Collider snap string theory?

Stuckeman professor’s new book explores ‘socially sustainable’ architecture

Synthetic DNA nanoparticles for gene therapy

New model to find treatments for an aggressive blood cancer

Special issue of Journal of Intensive Medicine analyzes non-invasive respiratory support

T cells take aim at Chikungunya virus

Gantangqing site in southwest China yields 300,000-year-old wooden tools

Forests can’t keep up: Adaptation will lag behind climate change

Sturgeon reintroduction initiative yields promising first-year survival rate

Study: Babies’ poor vision may help organize visual brain pathways

Research reveals Arctic region was permafrost-free when global temperatures were 4.5˚ C higher than today

Novel insights into chromophobe renal cell carcinoma biology and potential therapeutic strategies

A breakthrough in motor safety: AI-powered warning system enhances capability to uncover hidden winding faults

Research teases apart competing transcription organization models

Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain

Benefits and risks: informal use of antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections on the rise in key populations in the Netherlands

New molecular tool sheds light on how cancer cells repair telomeres

First large-scale stem cell bank enables worldwide studies on genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

[Press-News.org] Physician associates provide safe care for diagnosed patients when directly supervised by a doctor
But allowing them to care for patients with undiagnosed conditions under indirect supervision may risk patients’ safety, finds a rapid review