New report confirms that more PAs will improve care and save money!
TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2017 /CNW/ - Ontario's Physician Assistants (PAs) gathered at Queens Park to call on government to expand the number of PAs in hospitals, home care, long-term care, and primary care centres across Ontario. A Conference Board of Canada research series on PAs has demonstrated that PAs help provide better, faster care to patients in every environment they practice and can save the healthcare system millions.
PAs assembled at Queen's Park to encourage the Ontario government to implement steps so that patients can take full advantage of PAs including regulation of the profession, increased funding in hospitals, primary care clinics and specialty practices and to develop a new funding model which would encourage the growth of the profession in specialty clinics to help bring down wait times and save money.
The Conference Board report titled Funding Models for Physician Assistants: Canadian and International Experiences published today, finds that the absence of sustainable funding models is a significant barrier to the expansion of PA employment across Canada. It further states that a funding structure is necessary for the growth of the profession in Canada. The report draws a parallel to funding models that work well in other jurisdictions such as the Netherlands and United States and implies it is time for Canada to catch up with its international counterparts.
"The evidence shows us that more PAs will improve care for patients and save the system money," said Chris Rhule, President of CAPA. "At a time when the government is struggling to save money and looking to find innovative ways to better care for our aging population, it just makes sense to move quickly to ensure we're taking full advantage of these valuable members of the healthcare team."
Working independently under the supervision of a physician and alongside other health professionals, PAs improve efficiencies by extending the productivity of the physician and allowing more patients to be seen. PAs were introduced in Ontario in 2007 and each year 80 students' graduate from one of the following three Ontario programs: McMaster University, the Consortium of PA Education, and the Canadian Armed Forces Health Services Training Centre.
They also practice in New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Alberta and have been practicing in the Canadian Armed Forces for nearly 40 years providing care to soldiers on the front lines. PAs practice across the globe in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States.
"PAs are helping an already stressed health system reduce costs, wait times and improve care," said Rhule. We're here to educate government on the value that PAs can provide to patients and to advocate for funding and regulation of the profession in Ontario. Now is the time to expand the number of PAs in Ontario. Patients would be the big winners, with increased access to care, reduced wait times, and improved healthcare.
SOURCE Canadian Association of Physician Assistants
Natalie St-Pierre, Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations, 613-854-0675, [email protected]
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