[Zach_the_Lizard]

You can't book an appointment with most of these directly, and not all of them can write prescriptions legally. For instance, I can't just book an appointment with a nurse to take a look at a cut to see if it needs stitches. The nurse might be the one to actually do the work, but I can't cut out the middleman legally.

[gherkin0]

> You can't book an appointment with most of these directly, and not all of them can write prescriptions legally.

You can with many nurse practitioners (and maybe physician assistants, but I've had no experience with them) at places like minute clinic (http://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/).

I've gone to a similar place that's in my office for some minor routine things, and it's been cheaper and easier to schedule than a proper doctor visit.

[Zach_the_Lizard]

Nurse practitioners are special in that they can do roughly 80-90% of what doctors can do, including writing prescriptions. In some cases they can act as specialists, such as handling mental health needs that your standard GP wouldn't handle.

They certainly do have an important role to play, but we need a lower level medical professional that can accept appointments and perhaps write a limited set of prescriptions and handle treatment of basic ailments.

One shouldn't need a masters for the 'oil change' of medicine, just as one needn't be a registered engineer to change an air filter.

[alistairSH]

PAs fill much of that role. Yes, they do require physician supervision, but at many practices you can make appointments directly with them, never seeing an MD.

The last time I needed a basic physical, I saw the PA. She ordered blood-work and reviewed the results with me. I'm sure one of the physicians signed off on everything, but as far as I know, she did the work.

Likewise, the last time I had the flu, I made an appointment with one of the PAs. She did everything, with the physician just signing off on the prescription at the end.

Post-surgery, my follow-ups were with PAs or NPs, not the physician. He did drop in to say "Hi." but that was about it.

[fancyketchup]

> You can't book an appointment with most of these directly, and not all of them can write prescriptions legally.

So I think that varies from state to state.

[Anecdote warning] When I was in grad school, at least, I was able to directly book appointments at the student health center with PAs, MDs and DOs (perhaps a university-run health center is different, somehow?). I also don't recall ever facing difficulty having a prescription written.

My understanding is that a PAs can't open their own practice, but that several PAs can function more or less independently under the supervision of one MD/DO principal.