Posted on 08/12/2020 2:52:58 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Patients will need to be seen by non-doctors including “social care navigators”, “physician associates” and “nurse practitioners” to clear the lockdown backlog, a medical leader warns.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard predicted the waiting lists of the past five months will continue to rise unless the NHS radically alters how it delivers care.
The chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said patients will need to get used to having appointments with physician associates, who do just two years’ medical training, and care navigators, who are often receptionists.
Nurses will also have to take on doctors’ roles.
There are nearly four million people awaiting operations or treatment. […]
Professor Stokes-Lampard said a patient with a sprained knee who would have traditionally been seen by a GP could now be seen by experts such as paramedics, musculoskeletal practitioners and “social prescribers” — non-medically-trained staff who put patients in touch with charities, exercise clubs or other activities. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“Patient’ was interviewed by doctor on computer screen.
12-15 minutes TOTAL.
Bill was $550.
I saw PA’s at Northwestern before and after my transplant for regular testing and check-ups, and I see a NP at another office, and she is highly knowledgeable.
Becoming a PA, it’s two years of experience in the medical field plus two years of schooling. It was a career I had considered.
3 weeks ago I was having intermittent back pain and cramps. Early on a Monday 0200 I was in the ER for the pain. Saw my PA on Tuesday (she is usually my sports injury and my MD is for other but it really does not matter). Took blood. Went back Thursday more blood, Friday and suggested I go to ER. Admitted late Friday night, gallbladder removed Saturday night, home Sunday night. That was 10 or so days ago.
I had cat scans MRI ultra sound. And $90 copay for ER.
I cannot imagine having to wait in pain 2 months just to get a scan to see what the problem was.
I my case the symptoms, like me, were a typical so it took ALL of them for the surgeon to make the correct call.
And a ruptured gall bladder can kill someone.
Waiting two months may have been a death sentence for you.
Glad you’re OK.
A good NP is the first line of defense in medicine these days. Not everything needs an MD
Just fire 85% of the NHS bureaucracy, and use their salaries to pay for more physicians.
Sure I agree — a NP should be able to hang out her own shingle, but be subject to the same tort laws, malpractice suites, and regulations that MDs are. I agree to compete. If you want someone with 2 years of education versus 10 and think they are as good — have at it!
In the US the administrative bloat went exponential to deal with the ACA, coding, reimbursement, etc. That’s a lot of potential doctor/NP pay thrown away.
great minds think alike....
The problem is that an NP if the gate keeper will not know always when to refer trusting his or her +equal experience”. This is the reason they should be supervised.
“In the US the administrative bloat went exponential to deal with the ACA, coding, reimbursement, etc. That’s a lot of potential doctor/NP pay thrown away.”
I agree entirely. That said, it wasn’t just to deal with ACA, coding, reimbursement etc. It’s also because of the influence of ‘outcomes analysis’ people - most of whom are extremely liberal, not particularly good physicians, and whose input has actually diminished patient care - while adding a huge administrative burden.
“I’ve gone to an NP for years and no complaints.
She has a ton of schooling.”
I use a NP for my physical most of the time. It’s easier to schedule and they don’t just walk through the room and call me fat. They’ll spend 15-20 minutes going over stuff and then call me fat.
My son is a Nurse Practitioner and prior a nurse and combat medic. He can start an IV while under fire. That is not easy.
He is not a doctor but a most skilled provider of medical care as I a clinical pharmacist.
The vast majority of the day to day medical needs can be handled by a person such as my son. If he can not do it he picks up the phone and says, “Doc I need some help with this patient.” It is stupid to have a doctor take care of the day to day medical problems. My son can do it at about half the cost of the doc.
This is good medicine!
They are supervised. And yes they do know their limits
I’ll take a good NP over a foreign trained (in the UK that means Paki) doc any day
Fair enough
NPs do not have a “ton of schooling”. They have about 1 1/2 years past a 4 year bachelor program. I have 7 years beyond my bachelors. There is no comparison there
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