09/29/2023

Op-Ed: Michell McDiffett, PA-C, on the Patient Experience

Americans are frustrated with the state of the healthcare system. They’re afraid that when they need medical care, it won’t be available or will cost too much. When they do receive care, many say providers don’t listen to them. These troubling findings from a recent survey by The Harris Poll should sound a deafening alarm bell for policymakers across the country including our state. Patients in all corners of America are feeling the effects of workforce shortages, provider burnout, and skyrocketing costs.

What we learned from the survey is that for far too many U.S. adults, the healthcare system just isn’t working. In fact, 73% of U.S. adults say the healthcare system fails to meet their needs in some way. Patients nationwide say they wait just under one month for a needed healthcare appointment. When they finally do get an appointment, patients feel unsatisfied with the attention they receive, as 66% of adults say they feel that healthcare providers seem more rushed than in the past.

The need for more physicians and other clinicians won’t be solved overnight, but there are commonsense changes we can make now to provide immediate improvements to healthcare delivery. One such solution is for lawmakers to remove the outdated, unnecessary administrative burdens placed on PAs and their medical colleagues that are weighing down healthcare teams. OAPA is working to remove practice barriers like the requirement for new graduates to receive direct supervision in their first 500 hours of practice, a regulation that prohibits newly licensed PAs from gaining employment and inhibits access to care for many of Ohio’s residents. Additionally, OAPA believes using terminology like “control” and assigning legal responsibility and liability for PA practice to physicians is unnecessary in a system where PAs are practicing as part of interprofessional healthcare teams, often extending care to rural areas where access is otherwise lacking.

The good news is that the Harris survey shows a nationwide understanding of the value PAs bring to healthcare and the near-universal recognition of the need to modernize PA practice laws. Nine in 10 adults say PAs provide safe and effective care, and the same percentage supports updating PA practice laws to allow states and healthcare systems to utilize their healthcare workforce fully.

Today, there are approximately 5,700 PAs in Ohio! The PA profession is one of the fastest growing in the country. The public’s faith in PAs should spark meaningful action by policymakers and legislators to remove cumbersome barriers to PA practice. Lawmakers must do all they can to ensure Ohio takes full advantage of our existing PA workforce and recruits more PAs to meet the rising demand for patient access to healthcare!

The OAPA wishes all of Ohio’s PAs a happy PA Week, and we ask you to join us in achieving our vision to make Ohio the premier state for PA practice!

Michell McDiffett, MSHS, PA-C, is Vice President, OAPA Board of Directors, OAPA Public Relations Committee Chair, and Psychiatric PA-C for Signature Health, Inc. in Ashtabula, OH.