Comparison of the scope of practice of physician associates with that of healthcare professions with prescribing responsibility from point of registration

Physician associates (PAs) have been practising in the UK since the mid-2000s and are due to be regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) after summer 2024. Presently, PAs are not able to prescribe prescription-only medication (POM), but this is anticipated to change following GMC regulation. This research compared the scope of practice (SoP) of PAs with other healthcare professionals who have some level of prescribing authority from the point of registration, to establish the need for PAs to prescribe POM and to explore which of the prescribing authority options would fit the PA role. The comparison demonstrates that PA SoP would suggest the need to prescribe POM, and that any prescribing authority should not be limited to a set clinical speciality or patient population. Additional research is needed to explore PA clinical practice further and identify the range of POM for which PAs need prescribing authority.