Watching portions of the Lindsay Clancy trial has made me think about something I recently experienced in my own healthcare: the growing role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in medical care.
Don’t judge me…
To be clear, I have nothing against NPs or PAs. If I have a sinus infection, the flu, or another routine problem, I’m perfectly comfortable seeing one. They can provide excellent care, and I appreciate the role they play in a healthcare system struggling to provide timely access to physicians.
But where I become uncomfortable is when an NP or PA becomes the gatekeeper to the physician—particularly when the problem is complicated.
Have we moved too far toward a healthcare model where efficiency and economics sometimes take precedence over expertise?
The Lindsay Clancy trial has raised similar questions, although her circumstances are vastly different from mine. Her treatment involved multiple providers, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians. What troubles me is not simply who treated her, but whether the healthcare system recognized when her situation had become sufficiently complex to require a different level of expertise and coordination.
I don’t believe the answer is to eliminate NPs or PAs. Quite the opposite—they have an important place in healthcare. But perhaps we need to be more thoughtful about when an NP or PA should treat independently, and when the patient needs the physician.
Healthcare shouldn’t be about whether you can get a provider. It should be about getting the right provider for the problem you have.
And as patients, I think we’re entitled to ask for that.
Now you know: Although potatoes alone do not provide complete nutrition, you can survive for years on a diet of nothing but potatoes and buttermilk.