The number of nurse practitioners and physician assistants hired in specialty practices rose 22 percent between 2008 and 2016, according to an article in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The data only includes outpatient providers.
Here are five things to know.
1. About 1 in 4 specialty practices employ NPs and PAs compared with 1 in 3 primary care practices.
2. In 2016, approximately 28 percent of all specialty practices employed NPs and PAs, including 49 percent of multispecialty practices and 21 percent of surgical practices.
3. NPs and PAs were employed in at least a quarter of practices in the following specialties: cardiology, obstetrics-gynecology, dermatology, gastroenterology and orthopedic surgery.
4. Specialty practices were more likely to employ NPs than PAs, but surgical practices hired more PAs.
5. NP employment in specialty practices grew 33 percent, while PA employment grew 20 percent.
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