What does P/A mean? In a medical chart, "Patient Flow Sheet," under the heading "Test Ordered"

Question

What does P/A mean? I found the term in a medical chart, on a page entitled "Patient Flow Sheet," under the heading "Test Ordered."

Answer 1

Besides what the doctor says, above, there is also: "Physician Assistant".  In my state PAs are allowed to perform many of the medical procedures that full MDs are allowed to perform.

But like she says... without reading the full context of what you have, there is no way to tell for sure what your "P/A" means.

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Answer 2

This is why medical abbreviations are under so much fire.

I have no idea what context they mean this in, and there are lots of different things it might mean.  P & A would probably be percussion and auscultation--but that's not a lab test or one you would "order."  A/P is usually at the end of a note and means Assessment/Plan, but that would be backwards from what you're saying.   PA in relation to an X-ray is a posteroanterior view--would this be in relation to imaging?  That's what I would think would be most likely, but it's still just a guess.

Without the full context of the abbreviation, it's almost impossible to say.