Latest news with #physicianAssociates
Medscape
8 hours ago
- Business
- Medscape
GMC Updates Fitness to Practise Rules Amid PA Criticism
The General Medical Council (GMC) has published updated fitness to practise guidance aimed at providing greater clarity and consistency in handling concerns about medical professionals in the UK. The changes follow long-standing criticisms of the GMC's approach to fitness to practise (FtP) investigations and its promises to introduce more compassionate procedures. However, the updated guidance drew immediate criticism for treating doctors under the same regulatory framework as physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs). Key Changes to Assessment Process The updates to FtP guidance provide case examiners with a framework for assessing whether concerns received by the GMC should be interpreted as meaning that a doctor may pose a risk to the public. This follows changes made last year by the regulator to investigations involving violence and dishonesty. These gave decision-makers more discretion in minor cases judged to represent a lower risk to public protection. The new guidance introduces three core questions for decision-makers when assessing whether concerns should proceed to investigation: What is the seriousness of the concern? What is the impact of relevant context? How has the doctor responded? Factors that may increase seriousness include repeat behaviour, abuse of position, or allegations involving vulnerable individuals. Decision-makers will also consider working environment, personal circumstances, and whether the professional has shown insight and remediation. Investigation Triggers Fitness to practise investigations may still be initiated for: Misconduct Poor performance Criminal conviction or caution Physical or mental ill-health affecting practice Determination by another regulatory body Insufficient knowledge of English The thresholds for FtP concerns remain unchanged, but the assessment process will be more structured. The Medical Protection Society (MPS) welcomed the GMC's efforts 'to deliver a fitness to practise process that is fairer and more compassionate'. Dr Rob Hendry, the society's medical director, told Medscape News UK : 'Finding out that fitness to practise is being called into question can have a significant impact on a doctor's mental wellbeing.' He added that the MPS had 'long called for more to be done to ensure doctors are not dragged through this stressful process unnecessarily'. Doctors' Association Raises Concerns The new guidance brings FtP decisions for doctors into line with how cases involving PAs and AAs are considered. The GMC assumed responsibility for regulation of PAs and AAs in December 2024. The move was vigorously opposed by many in the medical profession, particularly by GPs who wanted medical associates kept out of general practice altogether. The Doctors' Association UK (DAUK) appreciated the GMC's attempt to clarify its guidance but expressed concern about aligning doctor regulation with PA and AA processes. Helen Fernandes, DAUK chair, highlighted that the GMC has not set standards or scope of clinical practice for medical associates. 'If there was an issue around the clinical decision-making of a PA or AA, there are no standards against which they can be judged," she told Medscape News UK . This contrasts with doctors' clinical conduct being assessed against strict standards for many years. DAUK has expressed unease about how doctors will be held accountable for supervising PAs and AAs, noting that the GMC has attributed supervision responsibilities to anyone working with them in a team. "This guidance seems to add more confusion to an already confused picture, which we believe doesn't help our members – but more importantly, doesn't help our patients or the wider public," Fernandes said. The updated guidance is available on the GMC's website.
Medscape
29-05-2025
- Business
- Medscape
Physician Associates Continue to Embrace Telehealth
The use of telehealth continues to grow across the healthcare industry, including among physician associates (PAs). As noted in the American Academy of Physician Associates' (AAPA's) 2025 Salary Report, an annual survey that explores PA pay and practice insights, a remarkable 49% of PAs reported using telemedicine applications as part of their clinical work in the past year. Sean Kolhoff, senior research analyst with AAPA, said these results were not surprising, per se, but do show that there is now a growing acceptance of the efficacy of telehealth in PA practice. 'Compared to pre-COVID estimates of telehealth use among PAs — 9.6% in 2019 — it appears that PAs have been able to adapt the technology to best meet their specific practice needs,' he explained. 'This is emphasized by the specialties that have generally continued to use telehealth post-pandemic: 76.2% in primary care and 56.6% in internal medicine. These specialties perform many tasks, like initial diagnoses and patient follow-ups, that can effectively utilize telehealth.' About Medscape Data Medscape continually surveys physicians and other medical professionals about key practice challenges and current issues, creating high-impact analyses. For example, Medscape's Top 10 Telemedicine-Friendly States 2025 found that States have continued to update telehealth policies since the pandemic. A state's telehealth success also includes available connectivity for patients. States continue to invest in digital infrastructure to enhance connectivity. Tele-social work, tele-rehabilitation, and tele-occupational health are also on the rise. Dane Thomas, PA-C, MMS, a PA who specializes in hematology and oncology, said telemedicine use skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic — and showed its value to healthcare providers and patients alike. 'The rapid adoption of these tools, which were accelerated just out of necessity, helped us see the benefits,' he explained. 'You see that a lot of patients like the flexibility and convenience of telehealth. And, as a provider, it's nice to be easily connected with patients through telehealth. It really gives us more flexibility. When we can see patients from home or from the office a couple days of the week, it lends itself to a better work-life balance.' Critics of telehealth sometimes say that nothing can beat the quality of an in-person appointment. Yet, research studies, particularly in primary care, suggest its use does not negatively affect patient outcomes. And with continuing workforce shortages, as well as concerns about patient access to care, telehealth applications provide a way for PAs, as well as physicians and nurse practitioners, to reach more people. 'I'd love to see it expand more in rural medicine,' said Thomas. 'I think we can give better access to care to patients who live in rural areas with telemedicine. Not just with primary care but also with specialty medicine. As it is, it's just really hard to get doctors in those areas.' Yet, as healthcare organizations consider the best ways to implement telemedicine, Tiffany Ryder, PA-C, said, 'The devil is in the details.' Ryder, who does not use telemedicine in her current role but did conduct appointments online regularly during the pandemic, said many health plans and hospitals are looking at how to best increase access to medical care without sacrificing quality. So, in her nonclinical role, advising those organizations about how to strike such a balance, telehealth, she said, comes up again and again. 'When telehealth should be used really comes down to the details and nuance of the situation you are trying to address,' she said. 'It's definitely not a one-size-all tool that can replace in-person visits.' For example, she said telemedicine works best when there is continuity of care. For patients who have a chronic medical condition and see the same primary care provider regularly, telehealth applications can be of great benefit. 'When you know your provider and they know you, you don't always need to come into the office to have a question answered or a prescription filled,' Ryder explained. 'That not only is more convenient for the patient but it also increases a PA's availability to see other patients who may be coming to urgent care or the emergency room [ER] for a more acute issue.' Furthermore, she said, telemedicine can also act as a 'super-educated triage nurse' to help determine where to best allocate provider resources in emergency and urgent care settings. 'If you are a parent, and your child falls off a bunk bed and hits their head, you don't have the knowledge or skills to make a decision about whether your kid needs to go to the ER,' she said. 'But if you can connect via telehealth with a PA on your way to the ER, tell that person what happened and let them ask those important red flag questions; they can then tell you whether you need to come in or whether you can go home and monitor the situation. You can better manage your provider resources, and I think that's a really great place where telemedicine can shine.' Thomas, for his part, hopes that more organizations will work to identify both the positives and negatives of telehealth use to make sure it is deployed in the right scenarios to enhance patient care. And, as Ryder said, the devil may be in the details of its continued use; both she and Thomas agreed that telehealth adoption will continue to grow in the future. Kolhoff added the AAPA's finding that telehealth use continues to increase speaks to the fact that 'PAs are adaptable to new and emerging technology that can improve the patient's experience and ability to access high-quality healthcare in a timely manner.' 'What the future may look like, no one knows,' he said. 'What we do know is that PAs will continue to adapt to new technologies as needed to ensure that patient needs are being met.'
