LONDON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- British health authorities are looking to use physicians' assistants in doctors' offices and hospital settings to help cut healthcare costs.
Modeled on a 40-year-old program in the United States, Britain is hoping to trim rising medical costs by deploying PAs in healthcare facilities, the BBC reported. The PAs will perform traditional doctor's functions, including making diagnoses and prescribing drugs, the report said.
The PAs -- about 3,000 nationwide -- will work alongside junior doctors in the hospital setting and with general practitioners in clinics, the report said.
However, "it will be up to local health bosses to decide how many and where to employ them" the report stressed, and the PAs will be under doctors' supervision at all times.
