1981 to 1990

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There is an increasing trend toward specialization, and a growing recognition of PA contributions to the workforce. Reimbursement of PA services in certain settings under Medicare Part B is approved and PAs are granted commissioned officer status throughout the uniformed services. Passage and revision of legislation allows prescriptive privileges for PAs in most states.

1981

Staffing Primary Care in 1990: Physician Replacement and Costs Savings, by Jane Cassels Record, reveals that PAs based in an HMO can provide 79% of care traditionally performed by primary care physicians at 50% of the cost.

APAP conducts a third national survey of students and graduates with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation support. The results of the three national surveys are merged to establish a National PA Database. The AAPA assumes responsibility for updating and maintaining this database. 

NCCPA introduces the Physician Assistant National Recertification Examination (PANRE). PAs who fail the exam are recertified for two years, but are required to retake the examination. 

1982

Physician Assistants: Their Contribution to Health Care, by Henry Perry, MD and Bina Breitner, is published by Human Sciences Press.

1983

NCCPA's Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) is redesigned to include three components: a general knowledge core, an extended core in either surgery or primary care, and a “checklist” clinical skills component (CSPs).

1984

First Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, by Dennis Oliver, PhD, is published by the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP).

Judith B. Willis, PA-C, begins term as the first woman elected president of AAPA.

The Canadian National Forces begin training and using PAs.

Alternatives in Health Care Delivery, edited by Reginald Carter, PhD, PA, and Henry Perry, MD is published by Warren H. Green, Inc.

1985

AAPA's Burroughs Wellcome Health Policy Fellowship is created, with Marshal Sinback, PA-C named as its first fellow.

AAPA and APAP initiate an important joint project providing PA graduates with a national job bank service: PA JOB Find.

NCCPA's Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination is open to informally trained professionals for the last time.

1986

With the encouragement and the support of the AAPA, reimbursement for PA services in hospitals and nursing homes and for assisting in surgery, under Medicare Part B (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act PL 99-210) is established.

Physician Assistants: New Models of Utilization, edited by Sarah E. Zarbock and Kenneth Harbert, PhD, PA-C, is published by Praeger Publishers.

APAP begins work on the "PA of the Year 2000" project in cooperation with the AAPA. Led by Jack Liskin , APAP President, six work groups convene in New Orleans in October to develop recommendations relevant to PA practice and education for the year 2000. (A national publication was released in 1989).

1987

National PA Day, October 6th, is established, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class of PAs from the Duke University PA Program, and, coincidentally, the birthday of Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD.

The new AAPA National Headquarters at 950 North Washington Street is built and occupied in Alexandria, VA.

Additional Medicare coverage of PA services in rural and underserved areas is approved by Congress.

1988

The first issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) is published.

AAPA and APAP enter into a fixed-fee contractual arrangement for staffing services, including a part-time Coordinator of APAP services employed by the AAPA.

1989

The newsletter, Perspective on PA Education, is published by APAP. Mike Huckabee, PA-C, is chosen as Editor.

Physician Assistants for the Future, an in-depth study of PA education and practice in the year 2000, is published by the APAP.

AAPA and APAP collaborate to publish A Guide for Institutions Interested in Creating New Physician Educational Programs.

Navy and Public Health Service PAs are Commissioned.

1990

NCCPA and AAPA assign a joint task force to develop the Pathway II recertification examination, a take-at-home version of the test.

The APAP revises and publishes the National Directory of Physician Assistant Programs: 1990-92 to help individuals interested in becoming physician assistants locate and apply to PA educational programs.