Physician Assistants Helping Bridge Gaps in Cancer Care

Physician Assistants Helping Bridge Gaps in Cancer Care

As Canada’s health-care system continues to face growing demand and workforce pressures, Physician Assistants (PAs) are demonstrating the important role they can play in expanding access to care — including within oncology.

A recent Healthing article highlights how PAs are helping support cancer care teams by working collaboratively with physicians and other health-care professionals to provide timely, patient-centred care. Within oncology settings, PAs can contribute across the patient journey, supporting clinical care, helping manage symptoms and treatment, and improving continuity for patients navigating an often complex health-care system.

As cancer programs face increasing patient volumes and health workforce challenges, integrating PAs into multidisciplinary teams can help extend physician capacity while ensuring patients continue to receive coordinated care. Research has also demonstrated that PAs can take on significant clinical responsibilities within oncology teams and contribute to the delivery of cancer care.

The article offers another example of the growing impact Physician Assistants can have across Canada's health-care system and the opportunities to further integrate the profession into areas where additional capacity is needed.

Read the full article on Healthing