Abortion procedures by APRNs and Pas

Abstract

"The patient safety of nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), and physician assistants (PAs) (n=5,675) were compared to physicians (n=5,812) using a prospective, observational study of early aspiration abortions. Planned Parenthood affiliates and Kaiser Permanente of Northern California were studied. An a priori noninferiority design with a predetermined acceptable risk difference of 2% was used for statistical comparison. All complications up to 4 weeks post abortion were included. Of the 11,487 aspiration abortions analyzed, 1.3% (n=152) resulted in a complication: collectively 1.8% for NP-, CNM-, and PA-performed and 0.9% for physician-performed aspirations. Complications were clinically equivalent between newly trained NPs, CNMs, and PAs and physicians. The findings support the adoption of policies to permit these providers to perform early aspirations and expand access to care.