The concept of using nonphysician health professionals to perform basic medical services traditionally provided by physicians emerged in the mid-1960’s amidst widespread concern over a perceived physician shortage. Variously referred to as new health practitioners, mid-level practitioners, or physician extenders, they were seen as a way to increase the availability of health care services, part...

Access to medical care is limited in most of Canada, and the population often endures lengthy waiting times to see a physician. The use of new and varied health care providers has been suggested as a means to alleviate the shortage of physicians. This paper reviews the history and role of the Physician Assistant (PA), both in Canada and internationally, and outlines the clinical competencies cu...

"Truth is the daughter of Time," said mystery writer Josephine Tey. This point, illustrated in her rehabilitation of the "villainous" King Richard III, is equally apt for a reconsideration of the 1991 Barer-Stoddart report on medical personnel. Canadian physicians have reviled these authors for "creating" a physician shortage by encouraging provincial cuts to medical school enrolment. Yet, data...

A decade ago, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 24% of the global disease burden but was served by only 4% of the global health workforce. The chronic shortage of medical doctors has led other health professionals especially nurses to perform the role of healthcare providers. These health workers have been variously named clinical officers, health officers, physician assistants, nurse practition...

The changing demands on the health sectors in lowand middle-income countries especially sub-Saharan African countries continue to challenge efforts to address critical shortages of the health workforce. Addressing these challenges have led to the evolution of “non-physician clinicians” (NPCs), that assume some physician roles and thus mitigate the continuing shortage of doctors in these countri...

Conventional wisdom holds that Canada suffers from a physician shortage, yet expenditures for physicians' services continue to increase rapidly. We address this apparent paradox, analyzing fee-for-service payments to physicians in British Columbia in 1996/97 and 2005/06. Age-specific per capita expenditures (adjusted for fee changes) rose 1% per year over this period, adding $174 million to 200...

Obesity is a major public health concern. Given its lasting efficacy for improving obesity and obesity-related diseases, bariatric surgery is an increasingly common treatment option. As the implementation of the Affordable Care Act progresses, the impending physician shortage will become more severe. Thus there will be an even greater need for doctors specialized in the management and treatment...

The National Health Sevice (NHS) faces a serious shortage of medical staff. One solution is to introduce US-style physician assistants (PAs) who train for around two years following previous clinical work or a first degree, and perform duties similar to junior doctors. This paper reviews the history and role of PAs, the quality of their work and their likely impact in the UK. A variety of sourc...

BACKGROUND Medical and technological developments, financial constraints and a shortage of physicians have made it necessary to re-examine professional boundaries between physicians and nurses. Israel's manpower shortage in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) has changed the responsibility and authority of nurses. However, these changes have not evolved into a uniform policy defining the divi...

Access to appropriate health care is often difficult for people living in rural areas because of a widespread shortage of appropriately educated local, rural healthcare workers and the distance, time and cost of travelling to larger urban health centres. This shortage is due to many factors including medical education, practice conditions, health system, regulatory, community, personal, family ...