Physician’s assistant proposal another band aid solution

Any expansion of physician’s assistants must be considered as part of a future evidence, data and needs-based holistic workforce plan and not rolled out as another ad-hoc, band aid solution to our medical workforce crisis.

“It’s clear that Director-General David Rosengren recognises the critical need to bolster the medical workforce, but we are concerned about some of the proposed approaches to do so,” AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim said.

“AMA Queensland has had discussions with Queensland Health and individual Hospital and Health Services about the potential risks for patient safety and to our medical workforce from increased use of physician’s assistants.

“Physician’s assistants are not a substitute for medical officers, and we have opposed the proposal until we can access the workforce data and clinical evidence to support its implementation.

“Such proposals risk patient safety and essential training opportunities for junior doctors who are our future medical leaders.

“We are also concerned that there is no current training system within Australia to produce physician's assistants and we would be recruiting an unknown skill set that is not registered nor regulated by Ahpra.

“Increasing concerns from other overseas jurisdictions including the NHS have recently triggered a review into the safety and efficacy of the physician’s assistant role, and no decision should be made until that information is available.

“There must be ongoing consultation with AMA Queensland, ASMOFQ and other stakeholders, including nursing and allied health professionals, about the physician’s assistant workforce.

“We met with Queensland Health before Dr Rosengren’s appointment to discuss the issue and have been assured that we will be involved in ongoing discussions about the proposal in 2025.”

Background

• AMA Queensland provided feedback in August 2024 on Queensland Health’s proposal to employ more physician’s assistants in our public hospitals
• There is no university program for PAs in Australia, meaning they are likely to be recruited internationally, including from the UK and USA
• PAs are not registered under Ahpra and competency standards are still unclear