As an Alaskan physician since 1986, involved in rural and urban care plus teaching University of Alaska Anchorage/ WWAMI medical students, I agree that our medical care system needs repair. However, the approach proposed in Senate Bill 115, allowing physician assistants, or PAs, to practice independently, is not the solution.
PAs have not received sufficient training to independently practice and diagnose. They have been trained to assist physicians, not to be physicians, and the training for these jobs is very different. Physicians, nurses, PAs and other medical professionals each have specific training, and they are not interchangeable.
PAs play a critical role in our physician-led teams, but doing away with PA-physician collaboration will weaken, not strengthen, medical care. Family physicians and internal medicine doctors can solve many PA referrals without specialist involvement. Unsupervised PA practice will increase unnecessary referrals to specialists, which will increase costs and clog access to specialists for those who truly need it.
Let’s work together to craft a bill that truly addresses the issues in our medical care system.
By better supporting our PAs and strengthening physician-led teams, we can ensure the well-being of our communities and increase the strength of our health care system.
— Dr. Molly B. Southworth, MPH, MACP
Anchorage
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.