Objective: To assess the value and productivity of physician assistants/associates (PA) in a movement disorder clinic.

Background: Due to the aging population and shortage of neurologists, there is a deficit of neurological care in the USA. By 2025 it is projected that there will be a 19% deficit in neurologists with demand exceeding supply in 40 states. This problem only intensifies in subspecialty neurological care such as movement disorders. Utilizing expertly trained PAs in movement disorder clinics is one solution to this problem.  PAs provide high-quality medical care to movement disorder patients. There is currently no literature on the role of a PA in a movement disorder clinic, patient satisfaction of receiving care from a movement disorder PA, and the financial and non-financial contributions of PAs in this medical subspecialty.

Method: Methods: This cross-sectional study will be conducted primarily in the Movement Disorder Clinic at Rush University Medical Center but other movement disorder centers that utilize PAs will also be included. Patient satisfaction of PAs and movement disorder neurologists (MD) will be obtained through Press Ganey Survey results. To identify PA productivity, number and length of clinic visits, wait time for appointments, and revenue generation for PAs will be obtained through electronic medical record data. In addition, PA research involvement will be determined through number of studies and study revenue generation for which a PA serves as principal or sub-investigator. Finally, to gain a better understanding of the practices of Movement Disorder PAs nationwide, a survey will be emailed to 45 PAs who have been identified as working in movement disorders.

Statistical Plan: Descriptive analysis will be completed for number and length of clinic visits, appointment wait times, revenue generation, number of research studies, and research revenue generation. A t-test will be used to compare Press Ganey Surveys for MDs and PAs. The PA role in patient and caregiver educational engagements, and movement disorder clinic programmatic roles will be reported. A P-value of <0.05 will be consider statistically significant.

Results: Press Ganey Surveys for 12 MDs and 13 PAs have been collected thus far. The remaining data will be collected and analyzed by July 1, 2023.

Conclusion: The final analysis will be presented.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-value-of-physician-assistant-associates-pas-in-a-movement-disorder-clinic/