Table 1.

Data sources for physician assistant predictive modelling

Data	Attributes	Limitations
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA)	Accredits PA programmes, active and in development, and periodically evaluates them. All potential PA programmes must apply for and be granted provisional accreditation before inaugurating a class.	Lengthy application process and historically trended around 10–12 new programmes per year. Personal communication is required for more specific data.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)	A survey of PA employers across all health service industries is published annually. Estimates growth for 12 years.	Does not collect data on self-employed PAs in the five US territories or overseas. Historical data on employed PAs began in 2001.
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)	Nationally certifies all PAs who want to work clinically in the USA. Administers a recertification examination. Approximately 92% of all certified PAs input data triennially.	Self-reported data, including intent to retire. Personal communication is required for data.
Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)	Annually surveys all PA programmes for attrition and graduation rates and calculates the average number of graduates. The 2020 completion rate was 100%.	Dependent on a faculty member in each programme to complete the survey.

PA = physician assistant.