Physician Practice Variables Unaccounted for in Studies of NPs and PAs in Nursing Homes

Paul R. Katz, MD, CMD, of Florida State University College of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies examining the impact of care provided by nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) in nursing homes to see if they “have accounted for both the collaborative relationship between themselves and physicians as well as physician practice size and type.” The researchers looked at whether these studies accounted for the collaborative relationship between NPs/PAs and physicians as well as practice variables “such as the number of physicians, total practice case load, and case mix.”