TY - JOUR T1 - Tightening Up the Nomenclature for Non-Physician Clinicians: Why Not Call All of Them Physician Assistants? JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 144 LP - 145 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00217 VL - 3 IS - 1 AU - Luppo Kuilman AU - Gomathi Sundar Y1 - 2015/03/01 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/3/1/144.abstract N2 - Dear Editor-in-Chief,This Letter is in reference to the article by KD Rao et al., “As good as physicians: patient perceptions of physicians and non-physician clinicians in rural primary health centers in India,” published in the November 2013 edition of Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP).1 The authors have to be lauded for their efforts to produce evidence on patient perceptions of care provided by non-physician clinicians (NPCs)—an issue that receives little attention, as most of the focus is on the technical quality of care provided by such clinicians.Debates have been ongoing about the best course of action to meet the health care needs of rural populations in India.2,3 Given that the Indian health care sector is a vast system with diverse needs and attendant challenges, it is reassuring to know that there are potential viable alternatives to allopathic doctors in areas with physician shortages.Rao and colleagues introduced GHSP readers to a cadre of health care workers called rural medical assistants (RMAs). We would like to introduce to readers another cadre that has been present for nearly 2 decades … ER -