Health Care
As the health care reform rolls out over the next five years and millions of newly insured seek treatment, the shortage of general-medicine doctors will only worsen. Many researchers anticipate that physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners will step in to fill that gap. They are already on the front lines, handling more and more routine visits, and their numbers are expected to increase in the coming years. Researchers are finding that the presence of PAs and nurse practitioners at doctors’ offices may help improve both the quality and availability of medical care.