Physician assistant specialty choice: Distribution, salaries, and comparison with physicians

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Medical Workforce Trends
• Physician Assistant Studies

Background:

• Physician assistants (PAs) play a crucial role in healthcare delivery.
• Understanding PA career trajectories and specialty distribution is vital for workforce planning.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated the economic factors influencing PA specialization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in PA specialty distribution from 1997 to 2013.
• To compare PA specialty trends with those of physicians.
• To determine the relationship between PA specialty prevalence and PA/physician salaries.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2013 American Academy of PAs' Annual Survey for PA information.
• Incorporated physician specialty and salary data from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and MGMA.
• Employed descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses.

Main Results:

• The percentage of PAs in primary care declined from 50% (1997) to 30% (2013).
• Significant increases in PA presence were observed in surgical and medical subspecialties.
• Higher PA prevalence was associated with higher PA salaries, higher physician salaries, and a greater physician-to-PA salary ratio (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

• Physician assistants are increasingly opting for subspecialty practice.
• The study indicates that demand for PAs may be a significant driver of this specialization trend.
• These findings have implications for healthcare workforce distribution and compensation models.