Physician associate: regulation and registration

The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving – bringing with it new ways of working and the development of new roles aimed at addressing the growing demands of modern medicine. As global populations age, all countries are facing major challenges to ensure that their health and social systems are able to make the most of this demographic shift (World Health Organization (WHO), 2024).

Older adults often require more complex care prehospitally, as well in hospital and post discharge, as a result of chronic illnesses and comorbidities, while advances in modern medicine raise expectations for high-quality treatment (Warshaw, 2006; Kumlin et al, 2020). This trend has put pressure on healthcare resources, the workforce and finances, and brought with it a need to make adaptations to meet the growing needs of ageing populations locally, nationally and worldwide (The Lancet Healthy Longevity, 2021).

Close to 60 years ago, the physician associate role, originally known as the physician assistant, was established in the United States (US) (American Academy of Physician Associates, 2024). The role emerged as a solution to doctor shortages, increasing population health needs and rising healthcare costs. The role of the physician associates in the US is increasing rapidly (Patel et al, 2023) but has also been adopted globally, with countries such as Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands adapting the role to fit the needs of their respective healthcare systems. In the UK, the physician associate is following its own trajectory, being uniquely adapted to the NHS framework.