PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Brogan N Guest
AU  - Chanceeth Chandrakanthan
AU  - Kate Bascombe
AU  - Jeannie Watkins
TI  - Physician associate prescribing: perspectives, practices and pathways
AID  - 10.7861/fhj.2022-0031
DP  - 2022 Nov 01
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - 274--281
VI  - 9
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/3/274.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/3/274.full
SO  - Future Healthc J2022 Nov 01; 9
AB  - With the introduction of statutory regulation of physician associates (PAs) through the General Medical Council (GMC) expected in 2024, we anticipate a consultation on whether PAs will be given prescribing rights and how this will happen. In anticipation of this consultation, we surveyed the opinions of PAs and healthcare professionals (HCPs) who work with them regarding prescribing rights for PAs. We had a combined response of more than 500 and the survey results show that the vast majority of respondents across the two groups are in favour of prescribing rights for PAs. While both HCPs and PAs overall feel that PAs should have prescribing rights, PAs prefer generalised rights while HCPs recommend specialist rights only. To ensure safe prescribing, we advocate for a safety assessment followed by a period of supervision in their specialty before prescribing rights are given: our data show that confidence, knowledge and safety increases with length of time in specialty. Prescribing rights for PAs will help them become more independent and valuable assets to the healthcare team, increasing efficiency and improving patient care.