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The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) last week, calling for an end to the AMA's opposition of legislative measures and public policies that would allow PAs to have broader clinical practice rights.

"We urge the AMA to cease its divisive campaign against PAs and other healthcare providers and engage in constructive dialogue about how to strengthen our healthcare workforce, promote health equity, and address the evolving needs of our patients," wrote AAPA President Jason Prevelige, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, and CEO Lisa Gables, CPA, in the letter to AMA President Bruce Scott, MD.

"Collaboration, rather than competition, must guide our efforts to build a robust and effective healthcare system," they noted. "We extend our hand in collaboration and urge the AMA to join us in this critical endeavor."

However, the AMA declined to comment on the letter at this time.

"Their opposition to us at the state level, [and] the whole background of their campaign is based on false information," Gables told 番茄社区app during a phone interview with a press person present. "We think patients deserve better."

The AMA has spent a lot of time and money to fight the AAPA in legislative efforts to change state practice laws for PAs, she said. While the AMA claims those legislative efforts amount to scope expansion, Gables said efforts are focused on breaking down practice barriers to increase overall access to care, especially in states with a shortage of healthcare professionals.

In their letter, Prevelige and Gables noted that there are 178,000 PAs who deliver "high-quality, patient-centered care across America," and play "an indispensable role in addressing healthcare disparities and ensuring equitable access to care."

They also claimed that the AMA has been "spreading misinformation and using fear-mongering tactics" to discredit the care provided by PAs in clinical practice. These tactics only serve the AMA's "dangerous agenda above the interest of patients," they added.

To illustrate this point, Prevelige and Gables pointed out that the AMA obstructed roughly 100 bills in 2023 that were "aimed at expanding access to care and modernizing healthcare laws."

They further explained that claims made about PAs, including allegations of "scope creep," are misleading and damaging. In refuting these claims, they cited a medical malpractice payment report published in the , which showed that states with more permissive PA practice policies did not have an increase in malpractice payments.

Prevelige and Gables also wrote that the AMA's "clear pattern of opposing legislative measures and public policies" hinders progress in underserved communities, which have been hit hardest by the growing physician shortage.

Gables added that PAs can be part of the solution to those shortages, if the AMA would work with the AAPA to address legislative barriers to practices for the profession.

"We have this massive supply and demand problem going on," Gables said. "And [the AMA] fighting us at the legislative level and the state [level] is exacerbating that problem."

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