Shifting care from physicians to nurse practitioners do not result in any cost savings

“Because nurses spent more time with each patient, however, they saw fewer patients per hour. In four of five studies on nurse-led urgent care, lower salary costs were offset by this so-called ‘lower productivity’ and increased use of resources.”

Mid-level providers, such as PA’s and NP’s generally spend more time with patients which more likely results in greater patient satisfaction. There is no doubt that many are qualified to do most primary-care tasks.

However, medicine today is all about reimbursement and productivity. Practices are going to find out that when replacing physicians with mid-level providers, the lower cost of employing mid-levels will be offset by a decline in revenue. This study shows that the end result is little, if any, cost savings.