Analysis of Institutional Financial Stability and Physician Assistant Program Accreditation Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Many academic institutions face financial challenges impacting allied health programs.
• Physician Assistant (PA) programs are vulnerable to institutional financial instability.
• Understanding factors influencing PA program accreditation is crucial for program sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between institutional financial stability and accreditation outcomes for PA programs.
• To identify institutional characteristics related to positive versus adverse accreditation outcomes.
• To explore the impact of time since initial accreditation on accreditation status.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 144 PA programs (2017-2023 reviews).
• Analysis of the Composite Financial Index (CFI) for sponsoring institutions.
• Logistic regression controlling for institutional characteristics and time since initial accreditation.

Main Results:

• Most PA programs are sponsored by financially stable institutions.
• Institutional financial health was not significantly associated with accreditation outcomes.
• "Insufficient human resources" was a key factor in adverse outcomes (52% vs. 3.4%, P < .001).
• Longer intervals between accreditation reviews increased the odds of adverse outcomes by 4% per year (P = .02).

Conclusions:

• While institutional financial stability may not be a primary predictor, resource allocation (e.g., human resources) is critical.
• Programs with longer histories since initial accreditation face higher risks of adverse outcomes.
• Further research is needed to understand the drivers of accreditation success and failure in PA programs.