Patterns of use of health care services by snowbirds in the 9-month period before (baseline) and after (migration) the receipt of a travel supply of medications, 2009/10 and 2018/19
| Variable | Season; no. (%) of snowbirds* | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009/10 n = 53 431 | 2018/19 n = 65 311 | |
| Baseline period | ||
| No. of days on which health care accessed, median (IQR) | 15 (10–23) | 15 (10–22) |
| Longest gap in consecutive days on which health care accessed, median (IQR), d | 50 (35–72) | 53 (36–75) |
| Migration period | ||
| No. of days on which health care accessed, median (IQR) | 10 (6–15) | 10 (6–15) |
| Longest gap in consecutive days on which health care accessed, median (IQR), d | 145 (107–180) | 147 (110–178) |
| Longest gap in consecutive days on which health care accessed, d | ||
| 1–29 | 1154 (2.2) | 1485 (2.3) |
| 30–59 | 2719 (5.1) | 2330 (3.6) |
| 60–89 | 4513 (8.4) | 5440 (8.3) |
| 90–119 | 8890 (16.6) | 10 956 (16.8) |
| 120–149 | 10 588 (19.8) | 12 878 (19.7) |
| ≥ 150 | 25 567 (47.8) | 32 222 (49.3) |
| Service used on last day on which health care accessed before gap† | ||
| Medication fill | 34 790 (65.1) | 47 013 (72.0) |
| Laboratory test | 3281 (6.1) | 3147 (4.8) |
| Outpatient physician service | 27 429 (51.3) | 27 936 (42.8) |
| Inpatient physician service | 121 (0.2) | 197 (0.3) |
| Characteristics of first health care accessed after migration gap | ||
| Month | ||
| February | 2909 (5.4) | 3415 (5.2) |
| March | 7053 (13.2) | 7665 (11.7) |
| April | 21 207 (39.7) | 26 761 (41.0) |
| May | 12 347 (23.1) | 15 546 (23.8) |
| June | 3752 (7.0) | 4371 (6.7) |
| Service† | ||
| Medication fill | 27 900 (52.2) | 36 633 (56.1) |
| Laboratory test | 8270 (15.5) | 11 179 (17.1) |
| Outpatient physician service | 34 089 (63.8) | 36 998 (56.6) |
| Inpatient physician service | 314 (0.6) | 418 (0.6) |
| Death | 338 (0.6) | 366 (0.6) |