As physician assistants become more widely used in health care, you're more likely to be seen first by someone other than your doctor. Though you'll likely experience lower costs, the primary benefactor of PAs are rural residents who don't have physicians nearby. PAs are licensed health professionals providing medical care under physician supervision. They are not doctors, but they can prescribe medication, diagnose illnesses, run and interpret lab tests, assist in surgeries and offer a variety of other medical tasks under doctor's supervision.
PAs offer medical services to rural communities that otherwise lack such care.
William Kinkade, a physician assistant with FirstMed of Merkel, a clinic affiliated with Hendrick Health System, graduated with a PA degree after completing the program through the U.S. Air Force. Kinkade said some of the benefits PAs give to customers include providing health care to unserviced communities and lowering costs for health care. I think PAs will always be a viable commodity in rural health and smaller communities. The physicians are so oversaturated, there is that demand. Kinkade said his patients experience less trouble getting an appointment, usually have less of a waiting period than they do at a physician's office and are saved the sometimes exhausting drive from Merkel to Abilene.