Table 1.
Profile distribution characteristics, by model of primary care service delivery: A) Practice characteristics; B) Provider characteristics; C) Patient characteristics.
| A) |
MODEL OF PRIMARY CARE
|
||||
| PRACTICE CHARACTERISTICS | CHC (N = 35) | FFS (N = 35) | FHN (N = 35) | HSO (N = 32) | P VALUE |
|
| |||||
| Mean (SD) panel size* | 1.3 (0.8) | 1.8 (1.0) | 1.5 (0.8) | 2.0 (1.2) | .033 |
| Mean (SD) no. of years practice has been operating | 18.3 (7.6) | 16.4 (9.3) | 24.4 (10.6) | 26.7 (9.5) | < .001 |
| Mean (SD) no. of clinical services available on-site† | 11.3 (2.0) | 9.5 (2.6) | 9.7 (2.9) | 9.3 (2.3) | .0036 |
| Mean (SD) no. of FTE family physicians | 3.0 (1.1) | 2.4 (1.8) | 3.6 (3.3) | 1.7 (1.2) | .0017 |
| Mean (SD) no. of FTE nurse practitioners | 2.5 (1.4) | 0.1 (0.3) | 0.3 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.4) | < .001 |
| Mean (SD) no. of FTE nurses‡ | 2.7 (1.9) | 0.6 (1.0) | 2.0 (2.1) | 1.1 (0.9) | < .001 |
| Mean (SD) no. of FTE nurses per family physician‡ | 0.9 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.3) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.7 (0.6) | < .001 |
| Electronic medical records, n (%) | 10 (29.4) | 5 (14.7) | 20 (58.8) | 14 (45.2) | .0012 |
| Group practices, n (%) | 35 (100.0) | 26 (74.3) | 22 (62.9) | 20 (62.5) | < .001 |
| After-hours access,§ n (%) | 31 (91.2) | 19 (57.6) | 22 (62.9) | 22 (73.3) | .013 |
| Mean (SD) rurality index | 14.0 (18.9) | 12.6 (17.6) | 16.2 (18.7) | 8.0 (9.2) | .234 |
|
| |||||
| B) |
MODEL OF PRIMARY CARE
|
||||
| PROVIDER CHARACTERISTICS | CHC (N = 182) | FFS (N = 58) | FHN (N = 81) | HSO (N = 42) | P VALUE |
| Mean (SD) no. of years since graduation | 20.0 (9.9) | 23.3 (8.9) | 23.6 (9.2) | 29.5 (9.6) | < .001|| |
| Mean (SD) minutes of booking interval for routine visits | 24.8 (6.2) | 12.9 (3.0) | 13.9 (4.5) | 13.6 (3.1) | < .001|| |
| Female sex, n (%) | 131 (72.8) | 26 (44.8) | 33 (40.7) | 11 (26.2) | < .001|| |
|
| |||||
| C) |
MODEL OF PRIMARY CARE
|
||||
| PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS | CHC (N = 1155) | FFS (N = 1330) | FHN (N = 1442) | HSO (N = 1213) | P VALUE |
|
| |||||
| Female sex, n (%) | 839 (73.2) | 887 (67.3) | 942 (65.9) | 729 (60.7) | < .001|| |
| White ethnicity, n (%) | 884 (81.6) | 1142 (88.4) | 1357 (95.0) | 1148 (95.2) | < .001|| |
| Education level > high school, n (%) | 671 (60.6) | 851 (66.0) | 919 (65.5) | 772 (65.4) | .18|| |
| Chronic condition, n (%) | 840 (74.0) | 956 (72.3) | 1072 (75.6) | 872 (72.5) | .46|| |
| Attending this practice for ≥ 5 y, n (%) | 656 (57.7) | 898 (69.3) | 1055 (75.0) | 1026 (86.9) | < .001|| |
| Household income > LICO,¶ n (%) | 575 (66.2) | 913 (87.4) | 1023 (88.6) | 849 (88.4) | < .001|| |
| Mean (SD) age, y | 46.5 (16.9) | 49.9 (16.4) | 51.3 (16.5) | 51.1 (17.2) | < .001|| |
| Mean (SD) no. of household members attending clinic | 1.4 (1.5) | 1.4 (1.4) | 1.4 (1.4) | 1.7 (1.5) | .028|| |
CHC—community health centre, FFS—fee for service, FHN—family health network, FTE—full-time equivalent, HSO—health service organization, LICO—low-income cutoff.
Panel size is the mean number of patients per FTE family physician (x 1000).
Based on the question, “Which of the following services are available: nutrition counseling by a nutrition specialist or dietitian; family planning or birth control services; alcohol or drug abuse counseling or treatment (20-min sessions or longer); counseling for behavioural or mental health problems; suturing of minor lacerations; allergy shots; wart treatment; Papanicolaou tests; sigmoidoscopy; prenatal care; preparation for delivery and delivery (off-site) of babies; splinting for a sprained ankle; removal of an ingrown toenail; electrocardiograms; spirometry; or other?”
Refers to FTE nurses, registered practical nurses, and nursing assistants.
Provision of services outside of regular office hours, over and above the Ontario Telephone Health Advisory Service.
P values adjusted for clustering of providers and patients by practice based on linear mixed regression and marginal logistic regression equations.
Low-income cutoff is a measure of household deprivation used by Statistics Canada.