News: Demand for midlevels expected to surge

There are more than 1,000 retail health clinics nationwide, and the boom shows no signs of subsiding. As the number of clinics grows, so does the demand for physician's assistants and nurse practitioners.
Retail clinics are expected to nab 5,000 midlevels during the next three to five years, according to practice management consultant Keith Borglum of Santa Rosa, California, who discussed the movement in an AAFP session titled "Take Home More of Your Practice Revenue."

As demand for midlevels rises, so will their pay. "You don't have the leverage to compete [with retail giants], so it's going to cost you more," Borglum said. There may come a point, he noted, when it's more advantageous simply to hire an additional physician, rather than a relatively costly midlevel-particularly for specialty practices. To learn more, read "What can midlevels do for you?" at http://www.memag.com/midlevels.