JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Primary care outcomes in patients treated by nurse practitioners or physicians: a randomized trial.
Studies have suggested that the quality of primary care delivered by nurse practitioners is equal to that of physicians. However, these studies did not measure nurse practitioner practices that had the same degree of independence as the comparison physician practices, nor did previous studies provide direct comparison of outcomes for patients with nurse practitioner or physician providers. ⋯ In an ambulatory care situation in which patients were randomly assigned to either nurse practitioners or physicians, and where nurse practitioners had the same authority, responsibilities, productivity and administrative requirements, and patient population as primary care physicians, patients' outcomes were comparable.