Table 3.
Characteristics of the total practice population
| Variable* | ||
|---|---|---|
| Patients |
N (Mean) |
23,514 (1,306) |
| Age as of August 31st 2007 |
Median (IQR) |
45 (27–60) |
| Patient Gender |
Male (%) |
10,106 (43.0) |
| Neighbourhood income quintile [32] |
|
|
| Unknown |
N (%) |
51 (0.2) |
| 1 (lowest) |
N (%) |
3,084 (13.1) |
| 2 |
N (%) |
3,643 (15.5) |
| 3 |
N (%) |
4,345 (18.5) |
| 4 |
N (%) |
5,091 (21.7) |
| 5 (highest) |
N (%) |
7,300 (31.0) |
| Recent immigrant [32] |
|
1,398 (5.9) |
| Comprehensiveness of care†[32,38] |
Mean ± SD |
0.54 ± 0.35 |
| Overall morbidity (Resource Utilization Bands)‡[39,40] |
Mean ± SD |
2.73 ± 1.02 |
| 0 |
N (%) |
1,047 (4.5) |
| 1 |
N (%) |
1,480 (6.3) |
| 2 |
N (%) |
4,778 (20.3) |
| 3 |
N (%) |
12,567 (53.4) |
| 4 |
N (%) |
2,783 (11.8) |
| 5 |
N (%) |
859 (3.7) |
| Overall comorbidity (Adjusted Diagnosis Groups)§[39,40] |
Mean ± SD |
4.77 ± 3.04 |
| 0 |
N (%) |
1,046 (4.4) |
| 1–4 |
N (%) |
11,189 (47.6) |
| 5–9 |
N (%) |
9,502 (40.4) |
| 10+ |
N (%) |
1,777 (7.6) |
| Diabetes [28] |
N (%) |
1,934 (8.2) |
| Congestive heart failure [34] |
N (%) |
386 (1.6) |
| Hypertension [27] |
N (%) |
5,594 (23.8) |
| Myocardial infarct [36] |
N (%) |
311 (1.3) |
| Asthma [33] |
N (%) |
3,143 (13.4) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [35] |
N (%) |
1,120 (4.8) |
| Mental health [41] | N (%) | 4,937 (21.0) |
Note: IQR interquartile range; SD standard deviation.
* Obtained from administrative databases.
† Comprehensiveness of care was determined by measuring the percentage of bills for 21 commonly provided services that were provided by the patient’s own family physician.
‡ Resource utilization bands indicate morbidity and expected health care system use, from 0 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
§ Adjusted diagnosis groups indicate comorbidity, from 0 groups (lowest level of comorbidity) to 10+ groups (highest level).