Florida’s Physician Assistants Want To Practice Primary Care Independently: What To Know About Pas

Janice Cohen, of Boynton Beach, refused to wait another four weeks to get an appointment with her primary care doctor. When offered a visit with a physician’s assistant, she reluctantly agreed. The experience, she says, proved to be a good one. “She took much more time with me than a doctor ever would,” Cohen said. More often, a medical appointment now involves interaction with a physician assistant, particularly in Florida, where a doctor shortage has led to long wait times. Also known as physician associates, they see patients in primary care practices and urgent care centers and work for specialists, including cardiologists and pediatricians.