Table 3.
Percent distribution of primary care physicians, unadjusted and adjusted percent with PAs or NPs in practice, and marginal effects: United States, 2012
| Characteristic | Percent distribution | Percent of physicians with PAs or NPs in practice | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted | Adjusted1 | |||
| Percent | Difference2 | Difference2 | ||
| All primary care physicians | 100.0 | 53.0 | … | … |
| Independence level n nurse practitioner (NP) State scope of practice laws3 | ||||
| Physician oversight to diagnose, treat, and prescribe | 69.7 | 50.0 | Reference | Reference |
| Physician oversight to prescribe | 13.6 | 56.3 | 6.3 | 1.9 |
| No Physician oversight required | 16.6 | 63.2 | 513.2 | 4.3 |
| Number of elements in state physician assistant (PA) practice laws4 | ||||
| Least favorable | 43.8 | 49.8 | Reference | Reference |
| Moderately favorable | 45.7 | 52.3 | 2.5 | −0.7 |
| Favorable | 10.5 | 70.0 | 520.2 | 69.6 |
NOTES PA is physician assistant NP is nurse practitoner.
1
Adjusted for practice size, multi-specialty status, urban status of practice location, NP scope of practice and PA scope of practice laws.
2
Percentage points.
3
Categories based on NP Practice Autonomy categories in The 2012 Pearson Report.
4
Categories based on favorability of state laws toward PA practice in Sutton, Ramos, Lucado, 2010.
5
Significant difference relative to reference category based on a t-test (p<0.05).
6
Significant marginal effect.
SOURCE: NAMCS-EHR Survey.