Rob Lourenco , VP of Deft Research – Health plan members don’t have a problem with NPs and PAs as primary care providers; they have a problem finding out at the front desk.

22% of patients said their PCP is an advanced practice provider (APP); that is either a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA). This is data from Deft Research‘s 2026 How the U.S. Consumer Selects a Provider and Health System Study.

So, are they satisfied with these APPs?

Generally, yes. Seventy-seven percent of patients with a physician were very or extremely satisfied, compared with 75% of those with an APP.

But there is a catch about that 2nd group. That 75% satisfaction was only true of those who KNEW their provider was an APP in advance of their appointment. Among patients who didn’t find out until the first appointment, satisfaction dropped to 54%. Low satisfaction nearly tripled from 8% to 22%.

It’s the mismatch in expectation that led to low satisfaction.

Given that almost half of new PCP relationships come from either an auto-assignment or a patient asking for whoever is available at a location, there is a low-effort fix here for payors and providers who want to impact this metric:

Carriers: when you auto-assign a PCP, explain the provider’s credential in the assignment letter (in plain English).

Providers: when an appointment is booked, explain in one sentence who they will be seeing.