Abstract
Objectives: To assess four physician assistant (PA) proprietary datasets and inform researchers about data quality for addressing healthcare policy and workforce questions. Methods: The quality of datasets was assessed by experienced researchers. Descriptive analysis included overview, collection methodology, variables, and availability. Assessment included each dataset's strengths and limitations. Results: Datasets from the American Academy of Physician Assistants, National Commission on Certifi cation of Physician Assistants, Physician Assistant Education Association, and Optum Provider360 Database include overlap in variables refl ecting organizational mission and/or design. Attributes include variables for validation; limitations were lack of public use fi les, requirements for specifi c data requests or data purchase. The datasets do not have unique identifi ers and cannot easily be linked. Conclusions: The PA datasets contain variables of interest but are limited in scope. Better data collection and shared platforms could further the understanding of PA workforce characteristics and contributions to American healthcare. Researchers await more comprehensive, longitudinal, linked, and publicly available datasets.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 49-56 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2015 |
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Keywords
- Health services research
- Health workforce
- Healthcare policy
- Physician assistant
- Physician assistant education
- Provider shortages
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Nurse Assisting
Cite this
Exploring physician assistant data sources. / Orcutt, Venetia L.
In: Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Vol. 28, No. 8, 2015, p. 49-56.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring physician assistant data sources
AU - Orcutt, Venetia L.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Objectives: To assess four physician assistant (PA) proprietary datasets and inform researchers about data quality for addressing healthcare policy and workforce questions. Methods: The quality of datasets was assessed by experienced researchers. Descriptive analysis included overview, collection methodology, variables, and availability. Assessment included each dataset's strengths and limitations. Results: Datasets from the American Academy of Physician Assistants, National Commission on Certifi cation of Physician Assistants, Physician Assistant Education Association, and Optum Provider360 Database include overlap in variables refl ecting organizational mission and/or design. Attributes include variables for validation; limitations were lack of public use fi les, requirements for specifi c data requests or data purchase. The datasets do not have unique identifi ers and cannot easily be linked. Conclusions: The PA datasets contain variables of interest but are limited in scope. Better data collection and shared platforms could further the understanding of PA workforce characteristics and contributions to American healthcare. Researchers await more comprehensive, longitudinal, linked, and publicly available datasets.
AB - Objectives: To assess four physician assistant (PA) proprietary datasets and inform researchers about data quality for addressing healthcare policy and workforce questions. Methods: The quality of datasets was assessed by experienced researchers. Descriptive analysis included overview, collection methodology, variables, and availability. Assessment included each dataset's strengths and limitations. Results: Datasets from the American Academy of Physician Assistants, National Commission on Certifi cation of Physician Assistants, Physician Assistant Education Association, and Optum Provider360 Database include overlap in variables refl ecting organizational mission and/or design. Attributes include variables for validation; limitations were lack of public use fi les, requirements for specifi c data requests or data purchase. The datasets do not have unique identifi ers and cannot easily be linked. Conclusions: The PA datasets contain variables of interest but are limited in scope. Better data collection and shared platforms could further the understanding of PA workforce characteristics and contributions to American healthcare. Researchers await more comprehensive, longitudinal, linked, and publicly available datasets.
KW - Health services research
KW - Health workforce
KW - Healthcare policy
KW - Physician assistant
KW - Physician assistant education
KW - Provider shortages
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84942572694&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84942572694&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/01.JAA.0000469443.64882.4e
DO - 10.1097/01.JAA.0000469443.64882.4e
M3 - Article
C2 - 26208017
AN - SCOPUS:84942572694
VL - 28
SP - 49
EP - 56
JO - Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
JF - Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
SN - 1547-1896
IS - 8
ER -