A recent survey found that half of Canadians are without a primary care physician and of those who have one, most say it’s a struggle to acquire timely appointments with them.
One in five respondents also said that they do not have a family doctor in a survey conducted by Angus Reid Institute and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).
The difference between a family doctor and a primary care physician is that a family doctor treats both children and adults, whereas a primary care physician mostly treats adults with internal medicine.
Of the Canadians who do have a family doctor, 29% said it was difficult for them to get an appointment and 37% said that it will often take days to retain an appointment. A minority of respondents, about 15%, said that getting an appointment with their family doctor was easy.
For those without a family doctor, 26% said they have quit looking altogether, while another 38% responded to having been searching for one for over a year.
“As a family physician working in Canada, I understand and I know the value of primary care,” said Dr. Kathleen Ross, president of the CMA, “And when you don’t have access to that, there’s delayed diagnosis, difficulty navigating a complex system, patients are left to their own devices to try and sort out their medical concerns. We need to address this urgently.”
In 2022, the CMA released a report that found family doctors have a higher rate of burnout compared to other medical and surgical specialists based on their own responses. A majority of family doctors, 69%, also responded to having a poor work-life balance which affected their mental health due to an increased workload.
It’s estimated that over 6.5 million Canadians do not have a family physician or nurse practitioner that
