More than 170K Ontario patients lost family doctors in first 6 months of pandemic, study finds
More than 170,000 patients in Ontario lost their family doctors in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study has found.
The study, led by Unity Health Toronto and non-profit research institute ICES, found the number of family physicians who stopped working doubled between March and September 2020 compared to the same time period the previous year.
This equals nearly three per cent of Ontario’s practicing family physicians, officials said.
On average, between April and September from 2010 through to 2019, researchers say about 1.6 per cent of family physicians stopped work.
“Nearly 1.8 million Ontarians don’t have a regular family physician,” Dr. Tara Kiran, lead author of the study and a family physician at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, said in a statement.
“Our findings suggest things are only going to get worse, which is really concerning because family medicine is the front door to our health system.”
The study found that about 385 of 12,000 physicians stopped their practice, and that those who did were more likely to be aged 75 or older and care for under 500 patients.
The findings also suggest that many of these doctors were approaching retirement and accelerated their plans during the pandemic.
The study emphasizes that it cannot prove that the pandemic was a direct cause of the exodus and cites other possible reasons such as health concerns, increased practice costs due to infection prevention and control measures, drop in revenue due to reduction in visits and burnout.
“More research is needed to understand the long-standing impact on primary care attachment and access to care and the broader impact on population health,” the study says.
The researchers also noted that while 385 physicians doesn’t appear to be that many when looking at the overall number of family doctors in Ontario, “over half of the physicians who stopped working had patients formally enrolled on their roster, and estimated the physicians cared for more than 170,000 patients.”
“The shortage of family physicians and other primary care providers is a complex Canada-wide problem related to aging of physicians and patients, increasing patient and system complexity, declining interest in family medicine among medical school graduates, and misdistribution of the workforce, especially affecting rural areas,” Dr. Rick Glazier, co-author of the study, said in a statement.
“These pre-existing factors have been exacerbated by the pandemic and call for fundamental changes in how we are organized, paid, supported, and deliver care.”
As a result, the researchers are calling for a re-evaluation of the payment model for family doctors, saying the model needs to create a more predictable income and provide doctors with flexibility. They also suggest expanding primary care teams to include other health professionals, including social workers, pharmacists and nurses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.