New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association opposes regulation of physician associates, citing patient safety concerns

The New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association (NZRDA) today voiced strong opposition to Health Minister Simeon Brown’s announcement regarding the regulation of Physician Association (PAs). Regulation means despite having no medical training, PAs will soon be allowed to practice independently.

“We already have NZ trained health practitioners who fulfil all the roles a PA may undertake e.g. nurse practitioners, doctors, paramedics and pharmacists. And we know from local and overseas experience that this (new) workforce presents significant risks for patient safety,” says Dr Deborah Powell, NZRDA National Secretary. “Regulation only cements these risks into our health system.”

The NZRDA emphasises that risks to patient safety are not due to PAs being bad people or because of human error. Rather, PAs lack the breadth and depth of medical training and clinical judgement required to practice safely. They are also an entirely overseas trained workforce adding risks associated with cultural competence.

Regulation alone cannot compensate for these deficits. Instead, it fosters a false sense of trust amongst the public regarding the role and capabilities of PAs, obscuring the fact they are not a doctor.

In New Zealand, there have already been cases of avoidable patient harm where PAs have been practising, including incidents of vision loss and a brain bleed, see here.

Numerous reports of preventable patient deaths have also emerged out of the UK, see here, here, here, and here, triggering an independent review in that country into the safety of this role, demonstrating that the regulation of PAs does not improve patient safety.