Patient Acceptance of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants in Rheumatology Care

Abstract

Objective To assess whether patients with autoimmune disease would accept advanced practice providers (APPs) as an option to fill the growing shortage of rheumatologists. Methods We administered a cross‐sectional survey to 500 patients or parents of children who reported having been diagnosed with qualifying autoimmune conditions and who had seen their primary rheumatology providers in the past 6 months. Respondents self‐reported whether their primary providers were rheumatologists or APPs. Our analysis compared the attitude and experience of the patients whose primary rheumatology providers were APPs with those of patients whose primary providers were rheumatologists. Results Of respondents, 36.8% reported having APPs as primary rheumatology providers. Patients of APPs were significantly more likely to arrive at their provider's office in 15 minutes or less (P < 0.01) and to be able to schedule routine and urgent appointments sooner (P = 0.02 and 0.05, respectively). There were no significant differences in overall patient experience of care between provider types. Most patients rated their providers highly, but those who saw rheumatologists rated their providers significantly higher (P < 0.01). Patients of APPs were significantly more likely than patients of rheumatologists to prefer to see APPs over rheumatologists (P < 0.01) and to recommend APPs (P < 0.01). Conclusion APPs may improve access to care and, regardless of provider type, patients rated their overall experience of care similarly. Overall, patient attitudes toward APPs were positive regardless of provider type, although APP patients held more positive overall attitudes toward APPs than did rheumatologist patients.

Public experience with and perspectives on medical care provided by PAs

“…This finding is consistent with previous research on patient satisfaction with PAs in a variety of medical practice settings. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] A 2016 study found that 77.7% of participants reported having a positive quality experience with PAs. 35 Similarly, 77.9% of participants said their experience being treated by an NP was positive, and 81.5% reported positive experiences with physicians.…”

“…5 Research on patient acceptance of and satisfaction with PAs spans more than 5 decades, consistently showing that patients are satisfied with the care delivered by PAs. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] However, previous research explored patient satisfaction with PAs in specific practice settings such as hospitals, outpatient primary care clinics, and EDs. 11 Fewer national survey efforts have been conducted exploring the general public's experiences with and perceptions of PAs.…”