Table 4.

Inhibiting factors for the employment of physician associates, as reported by medical directors

Factor influencing decisions around physician associate employment	Number of respondents, n(%)
	Employing (n = 20)	Considering (n = 44)	Not considering (n = 7)
A lack of authority to prescribe medication	11 (55)	18 (41)	3 (43)
A lack of physician associates to recruit	7 (35)	23 (52)	4 (57)
A lack of evidence as to whether physician associates are effective, safe and efficient in a medical team	4 (20)	11 (25)	4 (57)
A lack of authority to order radiographs	4 (20)	10 (23)	3 (43)
Opposition from other groups	4 (20)	3 (7)	1 (14)
Local negative experience	3 (15)	2 (5)	1 (14)
Other inhibiting factors	6 (30)	0	0
None of the above	5 (25)	0	0