Table 1. Baseline characteristic of each respondent groups, Ontario Health Experience Survey, waves 2 to 29 (January 2013—February 2020).
| Respondents’ Characteristics | Specialist had basic medical information from the primary care physician about the reason for the visit | Primary care physician seemed informed about the care received from the specialist physician |
|---|---|---|
| (n = 20,422) | (n = 16,442) | |
| n (%) | n (%) | |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 12,275 (55.2) | 9,807 (55.2) |
| Male | 8,147 (44.8) | 6,635 (44.8) |
| Age (mean, SE) | 51.3 (0.19) | 51.5 (0.21) |
| Age category | ||
| 16–39 | ||
| 40–64 | 9,695 (42.7) | 7,727 (42.2) |
| 65–84 | 6,182 (26.5) | 5,094 (27,1) |
| 85+ | 472 (1.7) | 401 (1.8) |
| Rurality | ||
| Large urban (RIO score 0) | 7,352 (43.0) | 6,004 (43.5) |
| Medium urban (RIO score 1–9) | 5,447 (27.8) | 4,424 (28.1) |
| Small urban (RIO score 10–39) | 5,139 (20.6) | 4,073 (20.1) |
| Rural (RIO score 40+) | 2,484 (8.6) | 1,941 (8.3) |
| Self-reported education | ||
| High school | 5,959 (27.0) | 4,936 (27.8) |
| College or bachelor’s degree | 11,712 (58.3) | 9,306 (57.4) |
| Graduate or professional degree | 2,589 (14.0) | 2,068 (14.0) |
| Missing | 162 (0.7) | 132 (0.8) |
| Self-reported financial situation | ||
| Very comfortable | 3,229 (15.8) | 2,554 (15.6) |
| Comfortable | 11,987 (59.6) | 9,662 (59.8) |
| Tight/very tight/poor | 4,663 (22.0) | 3,799 (22.1) |
| Don’t know or refused | 543 (2.6) | 427 (2.4) |
| Language most often spoken at home | ||
| English or French | 18,537 (86.8) | 14,826 (86.0) |
| Other than English or French | 1,885 (13.2) | 1,616 (14.0) |
| Primary care physician or clinic booked the appointment or coordinated care with the specialist * | ||
| Yes | 5,378 (79.7) | 4,306 (80.4) |
| No | 1,245 (19.0) | 925 (18.3) |
| NA/I don’t know | 95 (1.3) | 72 (1.3) |
| Received conflicting information from primary care provider and specialist ** | ||
| Yes | 938 (13.0) | 807 (13.6) |
| No | 6,001 (83.2) | 4,995 (84.2) |
| Don’t know/Refused | 295 (3.8) | 134 (2.2) |
| Self-reported time waited to see a specialist | ||
| 2 weeks | 5,751 (29.1) | 4,685 (29.8) |
| 3–8 weeks | 8,411 (41.0) | 6,779 (40.9) |
| More than 8 weeks | 6,260 (29.9) | 4,978 (29.3) |
| Number of specialty types receiving care from | ||
| 1 type | 2,216 (13.1) | 1,719 (12.6) |
| 2 types | 2,980 (15.9) | 2,248 (14.7) |
| 3 types or more | 15,226 (71.0) | 12,475 (72.8) |
| Types of primary care models *** | ||
| Solo FFS | 861 (4.8) | 708 (5.0) |
| Enhanced FFS | 5,647 (32.4) | 4,728 (33.4) |
| Non-team Capitation | 6,231 (32.1) | 4,948 (31.6) |
| Team Capitation | 7,100 (29.9) | 5,611 (29.2) |
| Other PEM models | 583 (0.9) | 447 (0.8) |
| Self-reported use of a walk-in clinic in the last 12 months | ||
| Yes | 6,110 (33.7) | 5,025 (34.1) |
| No | 14,201 (65.8) | 11,330 (65.4) |
| I don’t know/Refused | 111 (0.5) | 87 (0.5) |
| Complexity score based on CIHI Pop Grouper (mean, SE) | 1.6 (0.03) | 1.7 (0.03) |
| Total visits to the rostered primary care physician over two years (mean, SE) | 8.9 (0.12) | 9.4 (0.14) |
| Total visits to any specialist physicians over two years (mean, SE) | 15.0 (0.15) | 15.8 (0.17) |
Note: Reporting raw counts, weighted proportions, and weighted means.
*Added in wave 6 and dropped in wave 15 of the survey and calculated for smaller sample size.
** Added in wave 20 of the survey and calculated for smaller sample size.
*** Solo FFS: Patients are not formally part of an enrolment model but receive care from a regular primary care physician who is paid purely fee-for-service. Enhanced Fee-for-Service includes Comprehensive Care Model and Family Health Group where physicians are paid a mix of fee-for-service along with bonuses and premiums. Non-team Capitation includes Capitation models, i.e., Family Health Organization and Family Health Network where physicians are paid a mix of capitation payment, bonuses, premiums, and fee-for-service but they are not signatory to a Family Health Team (FHT). FHTs are interdisciplinary models of care. Team Capitation: Capitation models, i.e., Family Health Organization and Family Health Network, are part of a Family Health Team (FHT). Other PEM models include smaller specialized patient enrolment models.