Strategic Medical Consulting, LLC is a full service consulting firm that can help solve many of your healthcare problems with the addition of non-physician practitioners, known as Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs). Through our services, we can:

• Meet with practice owners or hospital administration to develop the role of the PAs and NPs in various departments and specialties.
• Develop a plan to find the right candidates for optimal success.
• Assist in the search and interview process.
• Work with the medical staff office and human resource department to successfully integrate non-physician providers.
• Provide a comprehensive analysis of the organization or practice to determine where and how non-physician practitioners could best be utilized.
• Assist in contract negotiations.
• Provide training for staff to successfully integrate the non-physician practitioners into the practice.
• Provide training for physicians on appropriate delegation and supervision commiserate with state laws and billing regulations.
• Guide the organization through development of proper billing resources for non-physician practitioners.
• Develop a plan for long term retention of PAs and NPs.

Increased Revenue1 

According to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), PAs generate revenues greater than what their compensation costs employers. Reports show that for every dollar of charges a PA generates for the practice, the employer pays, on average, 30 cents to employ the PA. PAs offer great financial benefits to their employers by providing high-quality medical care for which most public and private third-party payers reimburse. Medicare and private insurers reimburse the physician assistant's employer for services provided by PAs.3

What do physicians think of PAs?2

The American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and other national medical organizations support the physician assistant profession by actively supporting the PA certifying commission and the PA program accrediting agency. Studies done by the Federal Government have shown that PAs, working with the supervision of physicians, provide care that is comparable to physician care. The Eighth Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States (released in 1992) states, "Physician assistants have demonstrated their clinical effectiveness both in terms of quality of care and patient acceptance."4

1. Issue Brief: Hiring a PA: The benefits for physicians and practices. Retrieved June 25, 2007, from the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Web site: http://www.aapa.org/gandp/issuebrief/hiring.pdf
2. What do physicians think of physician assistants? Retrieved June 25, 2007, from the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Web site: http://www.aapa.org/geninfo1.html#physician
3. What is a Physician Assistant (PA)? Retrieved June 25, 2007, from the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Web site: http://www.aapa.org/geninfo1.html

 

The following are just a few ways PAs and NPs can make an impact on your organization:

• Decrease patient waiting times for appointments in the outpatient, inpatient, and ER setting.
• Develop and staff emergency room fast tracks.
• Allow for same day, work-in, or walk in patients.
•  Expand cosmetic services offered by a practice by either doing the cosmetic procedures or freeing up physician time for such procedures.
• Expansion of women's health programs, nursing home visits, home visit programs, rehabilitation/sports medicine program, occupational health programs, or rural health clinic certification.
•  More efficient rounds on surgical and medical floors .
• Overnight staffing of floors .
• First assist in surgery.
• Perform pre-admission and pre-surgical histories and physicals
• Increase revenue of almost any outpatient facility.
• Supervise and train other staff such as medical assistants and nurses.
• Expand your office hours to include night, lunch or weekend hours.
• Reduce doctors' time on call by sharing call time.
• Pre-round on patients in the hospital making physician time in the hospital more efficient.
• Free up physician time for more complicated patients, consultations, operating room time, procedures, or cosmetic services.

What are physician assistants (PAs)?3

PAs are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose, evaluate, and manage illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and in virtually all states can write prescriptions. Within the physician-PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A PA's practice may also include education, research, and administrative services. PAs work in every medical specialty.

What are nurse practitioners (NPs)?4

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses who are prepared, through advanced education and clinical training, to provide a wide range of preventive and acute health care services to individuals of all ages. NPs complete graduate-level education preparation that leads to a master's degree. NPs take health histories and provide complete physical examinations; diagnose and treat many common acute and chronic problems; interpret laboratory results and X-rays; prescribe and manage medications and other therapies; provide health teaching and supportive counseling with an emphasis on prevention of illness and health maintenance; and refer patients to other health professionals as needed.

4. What is a Nurse Practitioner? Retrieved June 25, 2007, from the American College of Nurse Practitioners. Web site: http://www.acnpweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3479
 

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