Comparing HMO physicians' attitudes towards NPs and PAs

This study examined the attitudes of physicians working in health maintenance organizations toward the use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants. It also explored some of the underlying reasons for these attitudes: effect upon quality of care, risk of malpractice, role threat and gender bias. The setting was a health maintenance organization serving 270,000 members. The data were derived from a survey of physicians' attitudes and behavior. Physicians from internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology were the study population. Internists and pediatricians had favorable attitudes toward both nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Obstetrician-gynecologists had somewhat less favorable attitudes. Physicians in all three specialties favored nurse practitioners more than physician assistants. Physicians felt that nurse practitioners were more likely to increase the quality of care and less likely to increase the risk of malpractice. Nurse practitioners were not seen as a greater role threat. Some gender bias appeared to be present, but it did not appear to constrain the use of nurse practitioners. Large, multi-specialty, prepaid group practice health maintenance organizations may be favorable settings for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to practice primary care.