PAs and NPs improve patient care and productivity in a radiology consult practice.

Abstract

To evaluate the effects on efficiency and patient care of the addition of physician assistants (PAs) and NPs to the abdominal radiology consult service. We obtained radiologist productivity and patient care metrics for 3 months before and 3 months after the integration of PAs and NPs into our consult service. Integrating PAs and NPs into the workflow led to a significant increase in mean RVUs/shift (15.2 ± 0.9 versus 6.2 ± 1.8; P = .02), number of studies read per shift (10.1 ± 0.5 versus 4.4 ± 1.5; P = .003), revenue per shift hour ($756.20 ± $55.40 versus $335.40 ± $132.60; P = .007), protocol prescription to patient appointment lead time (39.3 ± 6.7 versus 16.3 ± 2.9 days; P = .005), and significant decreases in mean CT (19.3% ± 0.6 versus 3.3% ± 0.6; P = .001) and MRI (11.7% ± 0.6 versus 8.3% ± 0.12; P = .011) same-day protocol changes as patient appointments. PAs and NPs can be effectively integrated into abdominal radiology consult service, increasing the productivity of radiologists, and enhancing clinical care.