Physician associates: What are the patient safety issues? An interview with Asif Qasim

Summary

In this interview, Helen Hughes speaks to Asif Qasim, Consultant Cardiologist and Founder of MedShr, about the role of physician associates (PAs) in the NHS. They discuss the patient safety issues arising from inappropriate use of PAs in both primary and secondary care and outline concerns about the planned rapid increase in the number of PAs working in the healthcare system.

Asif describes the risks associated with PAs being employed to fill gaps in the doctor workforce and discusses how the lack of clarity for patients has contributed to serious patient safety incidents. He highlights the need for regulation, a clear scope of practice and a consistent level of supervision to ensure that patients receive safe care from PAs.

Content

Related reading

• Physician associates House of Commons debate in relation to the death of Emily Chesterton (6 July 2023)
• Prevention of future deaths report: Susan Pollitt (8 August 2024)
• Partha Kar: We need a pause to assess safety concerns surrounding Physician Associates

A transcript of the interview is attached below.

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We'd love to hear your perspectives on the patient safety issues raised in this interview. Perhaps you are a healthcare professional with insights to share or a patient who has been seen by a physician associate? If you have an experience you would like to share with us, please do get in touch.

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About the Author

Asif is the Founder and CEO of MedShr, the world’s leading clinical case discussion network with over 2.5 million members in 190 countries. He is an Interventional Cardiologist with NHS and private practice in London. He studied Medicine at Cambridge University with an Open Scholarship to Trinity College, and returned to Cambridge for a PhD and was a visiting fellow at Yale. He completed his interventional training with a prestigious fellowship in Milan. He remains active in research and is a faculty member for major international cardiology congresses. He has held NHS Clinical Director roles, improving the quality of care for patients in acute and community services.

Asif developed MedShr to enable doctors to share and discuss clinical cases using an app that protects patient privacy and confidentiality. Launched from the Founders Factory Accelerator in 2015, MedShr has grown rapidly to become the world’s leading network for doctors, winning awards including Facebook Social Good App of the Year 2016 and the United Nations World Summit Award 2017. MedShr works in partnership with hundreds of national and specialist medical societies, and supports education for doctors and healthcare professionals around the world.