22% of Physician Assistants Furloughed, Others Redeployed

Approximately 22 percent of physician assistants have been furloughed at a time when the healthcare system is most in need of qualified healthcare professionals, according to the first national survey of physician assistants on the COVID-19 crisis.

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Conducted by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) between April 25, 2020, and May 6, 2020, the survey fielded responses from a total of 743 physician assistants. The survey indicated significant changes in the physician assistant workforce despite several states relaxing scope of practice laws to bolster care delivery during the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the AAPA, 21 states have fully or partially waived supervision or collaboration requirements through COVID-19 executive orders or through previous emergency legislation or regulation.

“When one in five PAs are furloughed, that means we have highly trained medical providers forced on the sidelines when they could be on the front lines,” David E. Mittman, AAPA’s president and chair of the board, said in a press release.

In addition to furloughs, over half (58.7 percent) of physician assistants reported reduced work hours, while 30.6 percent said they had their based pay reduced. Nearly 4.0 percent of physician assistants also reported being terminated from their positions.

Terminations, furloughs, and layoffs have become common practice in the healthcare industry as hospitals and physician practices face dramatic reductions in both patient encounters and revenue. About a fifth of physicians have also reported being furloughed or faced a compensation cut during the COVID-19 crisis, a recent survey found.

And like many physicians, physician assistants have also been redeployed to in specialties and practice settings most in need of healthcare professionals.

In the AAPA survey, nearly 10.0 percent of respondents said they changed practice settings during the crisis, while almost 6.0 percent changed specialties. Another 6.9 percent of physician assistants surveyed also reported volunteering in a medical capacity.

These redeployments and the relaxation of scope of practice laws put the physician assistant at the center of the crisis, the survey also found.

About 40.0 percent of physician assistants in the survey reported treating COVID-19 patients, while 47.4 percent said they diagnosed COVID-19 patients and 52.0 percent tested COVID-19 patients.

However, a significant portion of these physician assistants treated COVID-19 patients without the necessary safeguards.

Nearly 39.0 percent of physician assistants who treated COVID-19 patients did so without the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), and overall, almost a third (31.7 percent) of physician assistants have gone without PPE during the crisis, the survey found.

Only 3.6 percent of respondents said they were infected with COVID-19 during the first wave of the crisis. However, 72.4 percent also said they were at least somewhat concerned with their health and the health of their family.

“Our nation’s leaders need to understand the scale of the challenges that healthcare providers are experiencing on the front lines,” Mittman said. “As the professional organization representing PAs, our duty is to advocate for the health and well-being of every individual who chooses to serve.”

During the COVID-19 crisis, AAPA has been calling on state governors to empower physician assistants by reducing the administrative burdens that restrict the mobilization of the workforce. Waiving physician supervision or collaboration requirements for physicians assistants is critical during the declared public health emergency, the association stated in late March.

CMS has relaxed some scope of practice requirements with physician assistants, particularly in regards to the delivery of telehealth during the emergency. But AAPA has pushed for more widespread suspension of requirements, which it considers necessary to combatting COVID-19.

To date, only three states have yet to taken action with scope of practice laws.