[State of knowledge: overview – comparison, based on health profile, of the use of primary care medical services by persons registered with a family physician and those who are not]
Plé H, Diop M, Cortez Ghio S, Benigeri M
Record ID 32018013309
French
Original Title:
Portrait - Comparaison de l'utilisation des services médicaux de première ligne par les personnes inscrites et celles non inscrites auprès d’un médecin de famille, en fonction de leur profil de santé
Authors' objectives:
This project aims to provide an exploratory overview of the use of primary care medical
services in Québec to support the reflection on their organization, this with a view to more
equitable access to these services.
The goal of this study is not to determine the number of primary care services required
according to individuals’ health profile. Rather, it reports the number of services used, by
health profile, and compares persons who are registered with a family physician and
those who are not.
Authors' results and conclusions:
RESULTS: The results show that, in 2022-2023, 1 person in 4, or approximately 2.1 million
individuals, was not registered with a family physician and that close to half a million of
them had major or moderate health problems in their health profile.
For each person, the number of primary care medical visits during the year was
documented, i.e., visits to a family physician or a primary care nurse practitioner and lowpriority emergency department visits (P4-P5). On average, people make two visits a year.
However, this average varies greatly according to their health profile (1 to 4 visits a year)
and their registration status with a family physician (2.5 visits for registered vs. 0.8 for
non-registered). Even when they have a similar health profile, those who are not
registered with a family physician go to a clinic less often than those who are (close to
3 times less often on average) but go to an emergency room more often.
Authors' methods:
This study includes all the persons insured through the Régie de l’assurance maladie du
Québec (RAMQ) in 2022-2023. They were classified according to their registration status
with a family physician and health profile, which was determined using the Grouper
methodology [CIHI, 2021]. It should be noted that these health profiles are determined
from the diagnoses found in clinical administrative databases. They could therefore
underestimate patients’ actual state of health, especially in the case of those who have
difficulty accessing medical services, in particular, persons who do not have a family
physician and those who are more disadvantaged or isolated.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2024
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Other
Country:
Canada
Province:
Quebec
MeSH Terms
- Access to Primary Care
- Primary Health Care
- Health Services Accessibility
- Health Services Needs and Demand
- Physicians, Family
Contact
Organisation Name:
Institut national d'excellence en sante et en services sociaux
Contact Address:
L'Institut national d'excellence en sante et en services sociaux (INESSS) , 2021, avenue Union, bureau 10.083, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2S9;Tel: 1+514-873-2563, Fax: 1+514-873-1369
Contact Name:
demande@inesss.qc.ca
Contact Email:
demande@inesss.qc.ca
Copyright:
L'Institut national d'excellence en sante et en services sociaux (INESSS)
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