CANDC - If you've had care from P.A.s that you've felt good about, I'm glad. P.A.s are valuable members of healthcare teams. I like the P.A. I was assigned to. She's nice and conscientious. She does have her limits. I ended up in the hospital last year with a condition she was not monitoring closely enough - severe anemia.

P.A.s exist for one reason - to save money in the healthcare industry. They do not get paid as much as doctors because they are not equal to doctors. There is a lot they can do just fine. Just like you don't need an automotive engineer to change your car's oil, an MD isn't necessary to handle every healthcare issue. I think P.A.s are great at managing a diabetic who's insulin needs adjusting, usually. P.A.s are even able to diagnose some straightforward ailments and order appropriate treatments. But their education and training is much less than a doctor's. That's why they are willing to work for a smaller paycheck. Sometimes "what you know" does count.

We like to hope that by using P.A.s, patients can have more time with their providers. Sometimes it works out that way, which is good. Certainly, a P.A. who is caring and attentive is better that an MD who rushes through a visit with little real interest in the patient.

Where I get my care, it isn't working out quite as I'ld hope. The system tries to squeeze a lot of work out of the P.A.s. My P.A. seems to be kind of rushed. The MD I used to have spent more time. Now they have M.A.s assisting the P.A.s. An M.A. isn't even a nurse, but they have the MAs doing psych screenings. I think that is totally inappropriate. At least once a year, an MA sits down and asks me a bunch a personal questions related to mental health. She types my answers into the electronic record. I think that's wrong. My P.A. acts like she doesn't know I have a psych history.

I feel very unsupported where I get my healthcare.

They keep subcontracting our healthcare to less and less qualified people: from MD to PA; then from PA to MA.

A lot of people think the MAs are nurses. They are not. They have computer skills and they are trained to draw blood. They work cheaper than nurses, which is why they are hired.

I'm tired of all the cut corners in healthcare.