Assessing the Racial and Ethnic Diversity of Physician Assistant/Associate Program Graduates from 2010 to 2012 and 2019 to 2021.

Introduction: To assess the racial/ethnic diversity of graduates of US Physician Assistant/Associate (PA) programs compared with the diversity of the populations from which they draw students and to assess diversity changes over time among PA graduates.

Methods: We calculated proportion of Black or Hispanic PA graduates nationally and by school between 2010 to 2012 and 2019 to 2021 using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and compared it with the diversity of the 20 to 35-year-old population using the American Community Survey. We created benchmark populations for each school based on whether the school was public or private, with in-state/out-of-state proportions provided by the Physician Assistant Education Association.

Black and Hispanic Representation Declined After Increased Degree Requirements for Physician Assistants.

Introduction: The physician assistant (PA) profession is one of the least racially and ethnically diverse health professions requiring advanced education. New PA graduates are even less diverse than the current PA workforce and less diverse than professions requiring doctoral degrees. Between 1995 and 2020, the percent of all PA graduates that were Black individuals fell from 7% to 3.

Association between state payment parity policies and telehealth usage at community health centers during COVID-19.

Objective: We study the association between payment parity policies and telehealth utilization at community health centers (CHCs) before, during, and after the onset of the pandemic.

Materials And Methods: We use aggregated, de-identified data from FAIR Health for privately insured patients at CHC sites. Descriptive statistics and time trends are calculated.