ALBANY- An organization representing physician assistants (PA) is pushing to change the rules in place that require a physician to supervise them. The PAs say that this change will improve the state’s healthcare system by cutting down on wait times and providing medical services in communities that are currently healthcare deserts.
The American Academy of Physician Associates commissioned a Harris Poll which interviewed 2,519 patients nationwide in addition to 501 patients in New York. The poll revealed that 89 percent of New Yorkers polled support updating PA practice laws.
The new proposal, if passed, would allow PAs with more than 8,000 clinical hours working in primary care and certain non-surgical specialties to do so without a physician to supervise them. The PAs also expressed support for proposed changes in Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 executive budget that, in part, would remove what they characterize as, “unnecessary and outdated restrictions on how PAs in New York practice.”
The poll also revealed that New Yorkers wait on average 4.5 weeks for a needed medical appointment, longer than the national average of 3.9 weeks, a lag that PAs say could be significantly reduced by reducing restrictions on their practice.
