2004 PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT SURVEY

2004PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT

SURVEY

Vermont Department of Health Agency of Human Services

2004 Physician’s Assistant Survey 2

SURVEY DESCRIPTION

Mailed to PAs along with the license renewal forms in December 2003

Followed up via mail and phone calls

The final response rate was 100%


SUMMARY• There were 155 PAs working in Vermont.• 56% (87) of PAs were female.• Ages ranged from 26 to 62,

with a median of 44.• 62% (94) of respondents have worked in VT 9

years or less, and 16% (25) have worked in VT 20 or more years.


PRIMARY CARE

51% (79) worked mainly in primary care:

• 35% (55) in family practice• 6% (10) in internal medicine• 6% (10) in obstetrics and gynecology• 3% ( 4) in pediatric primary care


SPECIALTY CARE

49% (76) worked mainly in specialty care:

• 24% (37) in emergency medicine• 12% (18) in various surgery specialties• 4% ( 6) in dermatology• 3% ( 5) in internal medicine • 3% ( 4) in urology• 4% ( 6) all other specialties


CHANGES OVER TIME• As compared with 2002:

• There was an increase of 25 PAs, 10 in primary care and 15 in specialty care.

• More PAs are working 40 hours or more per week• There are 8.0 more primary care FTEs. Half of this

increase was in Franklin County, while some areas have seen a drop in primary care.

• There has also been an increase of 14.4 FTES in specialty care, mainly in Chittenden and Windsor counties.

• Percent of PAs with hospital admitting privileges has increased from 24% to 55%.


AGE DISTRIBUTION

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Perc

ent o

f PA

s

Count 38 40 53 20 4 0Percent 25% 26% 34% 13% 3% 0%

< 35 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-64 65+

25% of all PAs are under the age of 3525% of all PAs are under the age of 35


AGE DISTRIBUTION BY GENDER

0

20

40

60

80

num

ber o

f PA

s Male

Female

Male 12 16 26 12 2 0Female 26 24 27 8 2 0

< 35 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-64 65+

56% of all PAs are female; 64% of PAs under age 45 are female56% of all PAs are female; 64% of PAs under age 45 are female


SPECIALTY BY GENDER

0

20

40

60nu

mbe

r of

PA

s

Male

Female

Male 20 3 1 0 0 25 10 9Female 35 7 3 10 6 12 4 10

Family Practice

Internal Medicine Pediatric Ob/Gyn Dermato-

logyEmerg-

encyOrthop. Surgery Other

Primary Care Specialty Care

Most primary care PAs are female, most specialty care PAs are maleMost primary care PAs are female, most specialty care PAs are male


NUMBER OF PAs BY COUNTY

0

10

20

30

40

50

60N

umbe

r of P

As

Specialty Care

Primary Care

Specialty Care 1 5 2 29 0 3 0 1 0 0 9 7 4 15Primary Care 3 5 1 26 1 6 1 1 1 2 9 9 5 9

ADD BEN CAL CHI ESS FRA GI LAM ORA ORL RUT WAS WDM WDR

Although 23% of PAs work in more than one location, in this graph each PA is counted only once,in their main specialty and main county of practice.

Although 23% of PAs work in more than one location, in this graph each PA is counted only once,in their main specialty and main county of practice.


NUMBER OF PA FTEs BY COUNTY

0

10

20

30

40

50FT

Es

Specialty Care

Primary Care

Specialty Care 1.8 4.4 2 27.3 0 2.8 0 0.7 0 0 6.7 6 3.3 14.2Primary Care 1.8 4.8 0.7 19.2 1 5.8 1 0.2 1 1.9 8.4 7 3 6.6

ADD BEN CAL CHI ESS FRA GI LAM ORA ORL RUT WAS WDM WDR

All sites and specialties of each PA are counted.One FTE is defined as 40 or more hours per week.All sites and specialties of each PA are counted.

One FTE is defined as 40 or more hours per week.


PAs’ Basis for Vermont Certification

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Num

ber o

f PA

s

Count 10 140 5

Apprenticeship University Unknown


PAs’ Certification Exams Taken

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Num

ber o

f PA

s

Count 137 2 3 13

NCCPA State Other Unknown


0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Perc

ent o

f PA

s

Count 17 26 15 36 18 15 12 13Percent 11% 17% 10% 23% 12% 10% 8% 8%

<1 year 1-2 yrs 3-4 yrs 5-9 yrs 10-14 yrs 15-19 yrs 20-24 yrs 25+ yrs

YEARS WORKED IN VERMONT

38% of PAs have worked in Vermont 10 or more years38% of PAs have worked in Vermont 10 or more years


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Perc

ent o

f PA

s

Count 119 30 6Percent 77% 19% 4%

One Two Three or more

NUMBER OF SITES OF PRACTICE


HOURS WORKED PER WEEK

0%

20%

40%

60%Pe

rcen

t of P

As

Count 35 33 87Percent 23% 21% 56%

< 30 hrs / wk 30 - 39 hrs / wk 40+ hrs / wk


Hospital Admitting Privileges by Specialty

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Num

ber o

f PA

s

% with priv. 29% 50% 50% 20% 33% 78% 86% 67%without priv. 39 5 2 8 4 8 2 2with priv. 16 5 2 2 2 29 12 4

Family Practice


logyEmerg-

encyOrthop. Surgery Other


PAs ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Perc

ent o

f PA

s

Overall Medicaid

Overall 95% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 96%Medicaid 86% 92% 80% 100% 100% 100% 92%

Family Practice


logyOrthop. Surgery Other

Overall, 97% accept new patients, 90% accept new Medicaid patients, 91% accept new Medicare patients.Each site a provider practices in is counted separately. Emergency medicine excluded.

Overall, 97% accept new patients, 90% accept new Medicaid patients, 91% accept new Medicare patients.Each site a provider practices in is counted separately. Emergency medicine excluded.


COMPARISON WITHPREVIOUS SURVEYS


Primary Care PA numbers and FTEs, 1998-2004 1998 2000 2002 2004 Primary care PAs 68 70 69 79 Family Practice 44 51 53 55 Internal Medicine 12 7 7 10 Ob/Gyn 10 9 8 10 Pediatric Primary Care 2 3 1 4 Primary care PA FTEs 48.8 50.9 54.3 62.3 Family Practice 34.3 39.3 43.6 45.4 Internal Medicine 8.4 4.7 5.3 7.5 Ob/Gyn 4.7 5.5 4.5 5.6 Pediatric Primary Care 1.4 1.4 1.0 3.9


Specialty Care PA numbers and FTEs, 1998-2004 1998 2000 2002 2004 Specialist PAs 39 47 61 76 Emergency Medicine 20 25 33 37 Internal Medicine 1 1 1 5 Orthopedic Surgery 5 5 8 14 Specialist PA FTEs 37.7 42.1 54.8 69.2 Emergency Medicine 19.1 21.8 29.4 33.8 Internal Medicine 0.8 1.1 1.0 4.8 Orthopedic Surgery 4.6 4.6 7.5 12.9


1998 2000 2002 2004 Total PAs active in Vermont 107 117 130 155 Percent female 52% 56% 59% 56% Percent age 55 or older 4% 7% 9% 15% Average patient care hours per week 36 34 36 37 Primary care PAs 68 70 69 79 % accepting new patients * 98% 94% 92% 97% accepting new Medicaid patients * 91% 87% 86% 89% accepting new Medicare patients * 96% 93% 86% 91% Primary care PA FTEs 48.8 50.9 54.3 62.3 FTEs/100,000 population ** 8.1 8.4 8.8 10.0 Specialist PAs 39 47 61 76

Selected Indicators, 1998-2004

* % of sites not providers** Population estimates for 1998 revised after 2000 census.

2004 PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT SURVEY

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