Allied health and physician assistants: a progressive partnership

The recently published report of the National Commission on Allied Health stressed the perceived need for the development of more multi-skilled, generalist Allied Health professionals as a means of responding to the primary care focus of health care in the United States. There are many significant barriers to the development of such a professional in terms of educational requirements and licensing among other issues. Physician assistants have fulfilled this role in health care for nearly 30 years. The relationship between Allied Health and physician assistant education is not always clear although many Allied Health professionals pursue further education as physician assistants. Further development and clarification of this relationship presents an opportunity for Allied Health to participate in the training of generalist practitioners without complicating the educational requirements of other Allied Health professional programs.