Doctor–nurse substitution in primary care was well
researched.11–13 The ndings suggested that nurses
generally achieve health outcomes as good a quality as
doctors and may have superior interpersonal skills.
Patient satisfaction with nurse care was generally high.
Compared with doctors, nurses had longer consultation
times, carried out more investigations and often recalled
patients at a higher rate so eliminating net savings in
salary costs. From the perspective of the health economy
as a whole, it was generally cheaper to train nurses than
it was to train doctors; but savings were again eroded
because nurses tended to have lower lifetime workforce
participation rates than doctors. Cost savings were
therefore highly context dependent.
The substitution of physicians by nurse midwives was
also well studied. The ndings suggested that health
outcomes for patients are comparable for doctors and
nurses but that nurses may use less technology and
analgesia in intrapartum care. Nurse substitution was
reported to save costs in some studies but the evidence
base was too weak to draw rm conclusions.13,14
The evidence underpinning doctor–nurse substitution
in hospital settings12 and the substitution of
physicians by pharmacists10 was weak, allowing no rm
conclusions to be drawn.
Nurse enhancement of physician care for diabetes was
associated with improved glycaemic control, but the
evidence base was again weak and cost-effectiveness was
not assessed.15
Dieticians were compared with doctors and nurses in
the management of patients with high cholesterol.18
Dietician care was associated with improved cholesterol
control when compared with physician care but not
nurse care. Patient self-care was found to be equally
effective as dietician care. Cost-effectiveness was not
assessed.