Table. Adjusted Percentage of Visits Involving NPs and PAs by Visit and Patient Characteristics, 2010-2013.
| Characteristic | Specialist Physician Visits, 2010-2013 (n = 78 431) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Visits With Characteristic (Survey Weighted %) |
Adjusted % of Visits Involving NPs or PAs Among Visits With Specified Characteristica | P Valuea | |
| All visits | 78 431 (100) | 6.3 | NA |
| Visit Characteristics | |||
| Visit type | .008 | ||
| Return | 61 328 (79.1) | 6.7 | |
| New | 17 103 (20.9) | 4.8 | |
| Visit reason | .004 | ||
| New problem | 19 960 (26.8) | 7.2 | |
| Chronic problem, routine | 34 767 (42.2) | 4.9 | |
| Chronic problem, flare | 8231 (10.9) | 6.4 | |
| Presurgical or postsurgical | 9025 (11.8) | 9.3 | |
| Preventive care | 5392 (7.0) | 7.1 | |
| Missing | 1056 (1.4) | 5.0 | |
| Specialty | .86 | ||
| Cardiology | 3236 (4.1) | 5.4 | |
| Dermatology | 2949 (5.9) | 8.3 | |
| Otorhinolaryngology | 2995 (3.3) | 8.5 | |
| General surgery | 2482 (2.9) | 4.0 | |
| Neurology | 3396 (2.2) | 7.9 | |
| Ophthalmology | 3050 (8.2) | 6.2 | |
| Orthopedics | 2714 (8.4) | 7.3 | |
| Urology | 2965 (3.2) | 7.2 | |
| Other surgical specialty | 18 479 (18.7) | 6.3 | |
| Other medical specialty | 36 165 (43.2) | 5.9 | |
| Patient Characteristics | |||
| Patient age, y | .006 | ||
| 0-17 | 6784 (8.0) | 6.8 | |
| 18-64 | 44 170 (57.1) | 7.1 | |
| ≥65 | 27 477 (34.9) | 5.1 | |
| Sex | .65 | ||
| Female | 42 693 (55.3) | 6.4 | |
| Male | 35 738 (44.7) | 6.2 | |
| Race/ethnicity | .34 | ||
| Hispanic | 6450 (9.4) | 6.4 | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 5944 (8.1) | 7.7 | |
| Non-Hispanic white | 62 670 (77.9) | 6.2 | |
| Other | 3367 (4.6) | 5.6 | |
| Chronic conditionsb | .001 | ||
| Missing | 2531 (3.0) | 4.2 | |
| None | 28 647 (36.8) | 5.6 | |
| 1 | 22 785 (28.0) | 5.6 | |
| 2-3 | 18 809 (24.7) | 7.2 | |
| ≥4 | 5659 (7.5) | 10.6 | |
| Insurance type | <.001 | ||
| Medicaid | 7193 (8.8) | 6.7 | |
| Medicare | 23 486 (29.9) | 6.8 | |
| Other/unknown | 6366 (7.4) | 4.9 | |
| Private | 37 183 (48.4) | 6.5 | |
| Uninsured | 4203 (5.5) | 3.0 | |
| US Census region | <.001 | ||
| Northeast | 12 808 (20.2) | 9.6 | |
| Midwest | 17 727 (17.4) | 4.0 | |
| South | 27 130 (38.5) | 6.8 | |
| West | 20 766 (24.0) | 4.2 | |
| Location | .74 | ||
| Rural | 6796 (6.3) | 6.9 | |
| Urban | 71 635 (93.7) | 6.3 | |
Abbreviations: NA, not applicable; NP, nurse practitioner; PA, physician assistant.
Adjusted percentages were estimated using visit-level multivariable logistic regression with a dependent binary variable of PA and NP involvement in visits to specialist physicians in 2010 to 2013. Regression models adjusted for all listed variables and accounted for clustering and weights in the multistage survey design. After fitting the model, we used predictive margins to generate adjusted percentages for each characteristic. P values were estimated using Wald tests of each indicated variable across all subcategories in the multivariable logistic regression model.
Chronic conditions include arthritis, asthma, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic renal failure, congestive heart failure, depression, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, obesity, and osteoporosis.