Comparison of family physician–enrolled walk-in patients and the enrolled Ontario population with at least 1 family physician visit, Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2019
| Characteristic | Enrolled walk-in patients n = 393 922 | Enrolled Ontario population with ≥ 1 family physician visit n = 8 870 215 | Standardized mean difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 37.6 ± 21.5 | 45.0 ± 22.9 | 0.34 |
| Age, yr, no. (%) | |||
| < 18 | 70 602 (17.9) | 1 329 019 (15.0) | 0.08 |
| 18–29 | 90 730 (23.0) | 1 150 827 (13.0) | 0.26 |
| 30–44 | 86 036 (21.8) | 1 673 620 (18.9) | 0.07 |
| 45–64 | 96 467 (24.5) | 2 735 402 (30.8) | 0.14 |
| 65–74 | 29 695 (7.5) | 1 109 573 (12.5) | 0.17 |
| ≥ 75 | 20 392 (5.2) | 871 774 (9.8) | 0.18 |
| Sex, female, no. (%) | 230 355 (58.5) | 4 868 210 (54.9) | 0.07 |
| Neighbourhood income quintile, no. (%) | |||
| Q1 (lowest) | 71 398 (18.1) | 1 595 316 (18.0) | 0 |
| Q2 | 77 457 (19.7) | 1 721 495 (19.4) | 0.01 |
| Q3 | 79 961 (20.3) | 1 827 011 (20.6) | 0.01 |
| Q4 | 83 047 (21.1) | 1 852 419 (20.9) | 0 |
| Q5 (highest) | 81 515 (20.7) | 1 861 979 (21.0) | 0.01 |
| Missing | 544 (0.1) | 11 995 (0.1) | 0 |
| Recent provincial health insurance registrant,* no. (%) | 21 557 (5.5) | 621 335 (7.0) | 0.06 |
| Missing | 43 860 (11.1) | 757 330 (8.5) | 0.09 |
| Urban or rural residence, no. (%) | |||
| Large urban | 290 455 (73.7) | 6 403 524 (72.2) | 0.03 |
| Small urban | 85 348 (21.7) | 1 775 478 (20.0) | 0.04 |
| Rural | 15 695 (4.0) | 631 219 (7.1) | 0.14 |
| Missing | 2,424 (0.6) | 59 994 (0.7) | 0.01 |
| Comorbidity count,† no. (%) | |||
| Low (0–5) | 196 321 (49.8) | 4 875 591 (55.0) | 0.10 |
| Moderate (6–9) | 137 273 (34.8) | 2 858 678 (32.2) | 0.06 |
| High (≥ 10) | 60 328 (15.3) | 1 135 946 (12.8) | 0.07 |
| Health care utilization band,† no. (%) | |||
| Low (0–2) | 92 516 (23.5) | 2 091 194 (23.6) | 0 |
| Moderate (3) | 208 238 (52.9) | 4 703 425 (53.0) | 0 |
| High (4–5) | 93 168 (23.7) | 2 075 596 (23.4) | 0.01 |
| Patient enrolment model, no. (%) | |||
| Capitation | 143 354 (36.4) | 3 071 613 (34.6) | 0.04 |
| Team-based | 98 026 (24.9) | 2 654 023 (29.9) | 0.11 |
| Enhanced fee for service | 150 898 (38.3) | 3 068 232 (34.6) | 0.08 |
| Other groups | 1644 (0.4) | 76 347 (0.9) | 0.06 |
| Continuity of care‡ (%), median (IQR) | 55.0 (25.0–81.8) | 77.8 (50.0–100.0) | 0.51 |
| Missing (< 2 visits) | 43 305 (11.0) | 1 158 576 (13.1) | 0.06 |
| Proportion of patients with ≥ 1 emergency department visit in prior year, no. (%) | 117 400 (29.8) | 2 298 544 (25.9) | 0.09 |
| Total family physician visits in previous 2 years | |||
| Mean ± SD | 8.2 ± 7.8 | 7.3 ± 7.1 | 0.11 |
| Median (IQR) | 6.0 (3.0–11.0) | 6.0 (3.0–10.0) | 0.13 |
| Total specialist visits in previous year | |||
| Mean ± SD | 1.8 ± 3.6 | 2.0 ± 3.8 | 0.05 |
| Median (IQR) | 0 (0–2) | 0.0 (0.0–3.0) | 0.07 |
| At least 1 visit with enrolling family physician in previous year, no. (%) | 265 468 (67.4) | 7 133 688 (80.4) | 0.30 |
| Length of enrolment, yr, median (IQR) | 4.7 (1.9–9.1) | 5.0 (2.0–9.2) | 0.03 |
| Distance from patient’s residence to enrolling family physician (km), no. (%) | |||
| Median (IQR) | 8.0 (3.6–21.2) | 6.4 (2.7–15.3) | 0.21 |
| 0–3 | 82 084 (20.9) | 2 423 697 (27.4) | 0.15 |
| 3–7 | 97 700 (24.9) | 2 240 533 (25.3) | 0.01 |
| 7–16 | 88 637 (22.5) | 2 079 578 (23.5) | 0.02 |
| ≥ 16 | 124 713 (31.7) | 2 111 158 (23.8) | 0.18 |
| Encounter-level measure | Enrolled walk-in patients Encounter n = 993 300 | Enrolled Ontario population with ≥ 1 family physician visit Encounter n = 26 861 128 | Standardized mean difference |
| Day of the week of encounter with enrolling physician, no. (%) | |||
| Monday | 201 718 (20.3) | 5 431 874 (20.2) | 0 |
| Tuesday | 222 796 (22.4) | 5 743 703 (21.4) | 0.03 |
| Wednesday | 182 905 (18.4) | 4 868 218 (18.1) | 0.01 |
| Thursday | 209 992 (21.1) | 5 566 677 (20.7) | 0.01 |
| Friday | 131 161 (13.2) | 3 658 170 (13.6) | 0.01 |
| Saturday | 32 318 (3.3) | 1 221 975 (4.5) | 0.07 |
| Sunday | 12 410 (1.2) | 370 511 (1.4) | 0.01 |
| After hours | 93 404 (9.4) | 2 878 923 (10.7) | 0.04 |
Note: IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation
↵* Recent provincial health insurance registration is a proxy for recent immigration to the province.
↵† Measured over the previous 2 years.
↵‡ Continuity of care was measured as the percentage of primary care visits for the previous 2 years that occurred with their usual family physician. (31)
A standardized difference of ≥ 10% (0.1) was considered to indicate a meaningful difference.