As the gap between available healthcare and needed healthcare continues to widen, physician assistants and nurse practitioners are seeing more and more patients in place of doctors. While some experts are confident that these mid-level providers are capable of filling about 80 percent of a doctor’s role, others are more skeptical. Many people do not question who they are seeing at a doctor’s office but assume that they are seeing a licensed physician. This can cause some people in New Jersey to be concerned about risk of medical malpractice due to lack of training and medical experience.
Educators have stated that they believe that physician assistants, though not trained at medical school, can provide care equal to that of doctors. However, insurance providers and medical societies have recently voiced concerns over how much scope physician assistants are given to practice medicine. A New Jersey court ruled early this year that physician assistants would no longer have the right to perform a needle electromyography due to it being beyond their level of qualifications. The American Medical Association supported the court’s decision, noting that the gap in licensing requirements between physician assistants and doctors is significant.
While a lack of education does not necessarily mean that the mid-level provider will be negligent, it does mean that there may be limitations in what they are able to accomplish. It is true that physician assistants play an important role in the medical field, but without proper supervision and training, problems may arise. Patients may benefit from the awareness of what procedures they are having done and by whom, to ensure they are receiving the proper care.
The breakdown of medical malpractice claims among varying levels of education may not be currently reported. However, patients cannot be too careful or attentive when seeking medical treatment. Anyone in our state who feels that they have fallen victim to medical malpractice by a member of a medical team should know that they have rights under the law. Medical malpractice claims can be complex, but successful when negligent care is proven and the damages that resulted are documented.
Source: MarketWatch, “The doctor won’t be seeing you now,” Jen Wieczner, Sept. 7, 2012
