10 NP/PA Facts Pharma Should Know

1. Many clinics are owned and operated by NPs and PAs. Research shows there are over 8,500 NP/PA practice owners, and NPs in private practices prescribe an average of 29 RXs per day.
2. PAs/NPs make up two out of every five healthcare providers.
3. In primary care, most NPs/PAs see their own patients and only consult when necessary. In all specialties three out of five NPs/PAs have their own distinct set of patients (whom the physician does not typically see).
4. 35% of Americans say they had trouble finding a doctor in the past two or three years. The 10-point jump from when the question was asked in 2015 shows the physician shortage is growing as patients are increasingly seeing PAs/NPs for their care. The medical director of the Bellevue Hospital in NY recently called PAs “the scaffolding that holds up our hospital.”
5. PAs/NPs are in every single specialty and primary care. "I don’t think there’s a single disease process that the NP is not going to touch." (Angela Golden, Past AANP President)
6. The AAMC expects the supply of NPs/PAs to more than double over the next 15 years.
7. PAs/NPs rate higher than MDs on patient education.
8. 55% of healthcare administrators in leadership positions say their practice will add new NPs/PAs this year.
9. PAs/NPs hold key leadership positions in hospital management. As Laurie Benton, PhD, PA-C, System Director of APPs at Baylor Scott & White Health (the largest nonprofit health system in Texas) explains, “pretty much any of the committees we have here, I’m invited to be on.”??
10. Numerous patients are sharing stories of PAs and NPs saving their lives due to their unique listening and communication skills, attention to detail, close patient-provider relationships, and focus on patient advocacy. A young girl named Sophie, whose NP diagnosed her Kawasaki’s Disease, says, “My NP saved me from a life-long heart condition.” A woman named Sasha, whose NP manages her life-threatening diabetes, says, “I will always be grateful.” A patient named Robert, whose NP identified his blocked arteries feels he wouldn't be here today without his NP. A young mother named Stephanie with a life-threatening eating disorder credits her PA with saving her life by not only getting her the care she needed, but also showing deep compassion and going above and beyond to follow-up with daily calls to see how she was feeling and discuss symptoms.

(Sources available upon request)