Table 2. Descriptive comparison of those who reported that the specialist had basic medical information from the primary care physician about the reason for the visit (n = 20,422).
| Respondents’ Characteristics | Specialist had basic medical information from the primary care physician about the reason for the visit n (%) | Standardized Mean Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | ||
| 18,962 (92.5) | 1,460 (7.5) | ||
| Sex | |||
| Female | 11,324 (54.8) | 951 (60.1) | 0.11 |
| Male | 7.638 (45.2) | 509 (39.9) | |
| Age (mean, SE) | 51.7 (0.19) | 46.0 (0.57) | 0.32 |
| Age category | |||
| 16–39 | 3,639 (28.2) | 434 (40.6) | 0.26 |
| 40–64 | 9,006 (42.8) | 689 (41.4) | -0.03 |
| 65–84 | 5,869 (27.3) | 313 (17.0) | -0.25 |
| 85+ | 448 (1.7) | 24 (1.0) | -0.06 |
| Rurality | |||
| Large urban (RIO score 0) | 6,779 (42.7) | 573 (47.0) | 0.09 |
| Medium urban (RIO score 1–9) | 5,047 (27.8) | 400 (27.9) | 0.00 |
| Small urban (RIO score 10–39) | 4,800 (20.8) | 339 (18.3) | -0.06 |
| Rural (RIO score 40+) | 2,336 (8.7) | 148 (6.8) | -0.07 |
| Self-reported education | |||
| High school | 5.614 (27.5) | 345 (20.8) | -0.16 |
| College or bachelor’s degree | 10,799 (57.7) | 913 (64.7) | 0.14 |
| Graduate-professional degree | 2,394 (14.1) | 195 (14.1) | 0.00 |
| Missing | 155 (0.7) | 7 (0.4) | |
| Self-reported financial situation | |||
| Very comfortable | 3,010 (15.8) | 219 (15.5) | 0.00 |
| Comfortable | 11,164 (59.8) | 823 (57.3) | -0.05 |
| Tight/very tight/poor | 4,289 (21.8) | 374 (24.3) | 0.06 |
| Don’t know or refused | 499 (2.6) | 44 (2.9) | 0.03 |
| Language most often spoken at home | |||
| English or French | 17,211 (86.7) | 1,326 (87.9) | |
| Other | 1,751 (13.3) | 134 (12.1) | 0.04 |
| Primary care physician or clinic booked the appointment or coordinated care with the specialist * | |||
| Yes | 5,099 (82.2) | 279 (52.1) | -0.67 |
| No | 1,013 (16.4) | 232 (46.5) | 0.68 |
| NA/I don’t know | 86 (13.4) | 9 (1.4) | 0.00 |
| Received conflicting information from primary care provider and specialist ** | |||
| Yes | 823 (12.2) | 115 (23.0) | 0.28 |
| No | 5,666 (84.1) | 335 (71.6) | -0.30 |
| Don’t know/Refused | 263 (3.7) | 32 (5.4) | 0.08 |
| Self-reported waited to see a specialist | |||
| 2 weeks | 5,327 (29.1) | 424 (29.3) | 0.00 |
| 3–8 weeks | 7,891(41.3) | 520 (37.7) | -0.07 |
| More than 8 weeks | 5,744 (29.6) | 516 (33.1) | 0.07 |
| Number of specialty types receiving care from | |||
| 1 type | 1,977 (12.6) | 239 (19.7) | 0.20 |
| 2 types | 2,756 (15.8) | 224 (16.4) | 0.02 |
| 3 types or more | 14,229 (71.6) | 997 (63.9) | -0.17 |
| Types of primary care models *** | |||
| Solo FFS | 795 (4.7) | 66 (5.3) | 0.01 |
| Enhanced FFS | 5,185 (32.1) | 462 (35.7) | 0.03 |
| Non-team Capitation | 5,792 (32.1) | 439 (32.4) | -0.09 |
| Team Capitation | 6,637 (30.2) | 463 (26.0) | -0.04 |
| Other PEM models | 553 (0.9) | 30 (0.6) | 0.08 |
| Self-reported use of a walk-in clinic in the last 12 months | |||
| Yes | 5,532 (32.8) | 578 (43.9) | 0.23 |
| No | 13,331 (66.7) | 870 (55.0) | -0.24 |
| I don’t know/Refused | 99 (0.5) | 12 (1.1) | 0.07 |
| Complexity score based on CIHI Pop Grouper (mean, SE) | 1.7 (0.03) | 1.4 (0.06) | 0.10 |
| Total visits to any primary care physician over two years (mean, SE) | 13.0 (0.14) | 12.6 (0.45) | 0.03 |
| Total visits to the rostered primary care physician over two years (mean, SE) | 8.9 (0.12) | 8.1 (0.30) | 0.09 |
| Total visits to any specialist physicians over two years (mean, SE) | 15.1 (0.16) | 13.4 (0.48) | 0.10 |
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.