During the COVID-19 crisis, there have been some developing changes with respect to physician assistants (PAs). For instance, there's been a rise in the demand for PAs in hospitals and rural settings, in addition to doctor’s offices. And, physician assistants are among those who are considered healthcare heroes in this COVID-19 era.
With this higher demand, comes more emergency medicine scheduling shifts and challenges. This is why the use of physician scheduling software has become more important than ever to help the scheduling process for PAs go more smoothly. Some benefits of physician assistant scheduling software include the following:
1. Helps Accommodate the Rise in PA Use in Rural Settings
Highly qualified physician assistants and nurse practitioners working alongside doctors in a team setting is being increasingly provided in today's healthcare atmosphere; and not just in cities, but in rural areas as well.
These medical professionals are also managing their own patients who've selected them for their primary care providers. So, the scheduling process for PAs needs to be handled appropriately to accommodate this rise and shift scheduling software can help streamline this process.
Today, fewer individuals are actually seeing their primary care physicians, but instead are choosing to see a physician assistant or nurse practitioner instead, according to the Health Care Cost Institute's (HCCI) new research brief. The HCCI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization launched in the year 2011.
2. Higher Demand for PAs During COVID-19 Crisis
PAs are uniquely suited for meeting the increasing demand for workers in the field of healthcare overall. As physician assistants from all different types of medical specialties are being asked to work during the COVID-19 crisis in the emergency room, this ability and flexibility to meet the healthcare system's gaps dynamically have been emphasized as being a highly valuable asset. For instance:
• PAs are becoming integral in hospitals, particularly with COVID19
• PAs can administer COVID-19 tests
Because of this, implementing physician scheduling software can help ensure the PA's schedules are organized, accurate, and shifts are scheduled adequately and fairly.
3. PA Supervision Ratio Per Supervising Doctor Waived
The maximum four PAs to one supervising doctor ratio is waived under the department's order. There's no set limit, where the waiver order applies, on the number of physician assistants that can be supervised by each physician.
This waiver is distinctly meant for increasing the PAs' availability in hospitals and other healthcare settings where the coronavirus surge taxes accessible resources. Instead of having a clear limit to how many PAs one doctor can supervise, this waiver places the responsibility on the supervising physician and PA to decide on a reasonable limit.
Over a dozen other states are already allowing doctors to supervise a limitless number of physician assistants prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Today, more medical education organizations are adding physician assistant programs to their curriculums, thanks to the rising demand for this integral and important healthcare role PAs play. Your organization can be ready for this demand by implementing physician assistant scheduling software.
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