COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Effects of substituting nurse practitioners, physician assistants or nurses for physicians concerning healthcare for the ageing population: a systematic literature review.

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of substituting nurse practitioners, physician assistants or nurses for physicians in long-term care facilities and primary healthcare for the ageing population (primary aim) and to describe what influences the implementation (secondary aim).

BACKGROUND: Healthcare for the ageing population is undergoing major changes and physicians face heavy workloads. A solution to guarantee quality and contain costs might be to substitute nurse practitioners, physician assistants or nurses for physicians.

DESIGN: A systematic literature review.

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, Web of Science; searched January 1995-August 2015.

REVIEW METHODS: Study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted independently by two reviewers. Outcomes collected: patient outcomes, care provider outcomes, process of care outcomes, resource use outcomes, costs and descriptions of the implementation. Data synthesis consisted of a narrative summary.

RESULTS: Two studies used a randomized design and eight studies used other comparative designs. The evidence of the two randomized controlled trials showed no effect on approximately half of the outcomes and a positive effect on the other half of the outcomes. Results of eight other comparative study designs point towards the same direction. The implementation was influenced by factors on a social, organizational and individual level.

CONCLUSION: Physician substitution in healthcare for the ageing population may achieve at least as good patient outcomes and process of care outcomes compared with care provided by physicians. Evidence about resource use and costs is too limited to draw conclusions.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app