Physician associates could make a major impact on post-pandemic waiting lists in the Irish health service, it has been claimed.

Physician associates are highly skilled healthcare professionals who provide a broad range of medical services in a wide variety of workplaces, including hospitals, GP practices and community health services.

They support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients and are trained to perform several roles, including taking medical histories, performing examinations, analysing test results and making diagnoses.

According to the director of physician associate studies at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Prof Lisa Alexander, these healthcare professionals could help to tackle waiting lists, which would improve patient care and working conditions across the health service.

“The impactful role that physician associates have had on a number of international health systems became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. They addressed backlogs across areas including specialist care, preventative screening and GP care, amongst others.

“In Ireland, they have the potential to make a significant impact on population health in the post-pandemic health system by helping to address occupational shortages in areas such as general practice, and reducing the backlog that was made worse during the pandemic by improving the flow of patients through the health system,” Prof Alexander explained.

The programme to train physician associates in Ireland was developed by RCSI following successful global implementation of similar programmes in countries such as the UK, the Netherlands and the US.

These programmes have demonstrated an improvement in the flow of patients through health systems and in chronic disease management. They have also contributed to overall cost savings and an increase in patient and staff satisfaction in these countries.

Over 60 physician associates have graduated from the RCSI masters programme to date and are working in the Irish health system, with the majority working in hospital or specialised care in the Dublin region.

Research on this model of care in Ireland has revealed enhanced patient satisfaction and continuity of care, as well as a high level of job satisfaction among practising physician associates.

“We need to see an increase in the numbers graduating as physician associates and introduce regulation for the profession so that they can work to their full potential across all sectors of the health system,” Prof Alexander said.

She made her comments ahead of the WHO Global Forum on Human Resources for Health (April 4), at which she was due to speak about innovative approaches to scaling up the health workforce.