The Ontario College of Family Physicians is requesting immediate support from the provincial government to combat the province’s escalating family doctor crisis.
The not-for-profit representing over 18,000 family physicians released new data showing that the number of Ontarians without a family doctor has surpassed 2.5 million, rising from 1.8 million in 2020. The latest data available represents statistics as of Sept. 2023.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians said that over 160,000 Ontarians were added to the list without a family doctor in a six-month period.
“Every Ontarian deserves a family doctor, and patients should be able to find one in their community,” said the Ontario College of Family Physicians president, Dr. Mekalai Kumanan. “System-wide issues are stretching family doctors far beyond capacity. We need to address the pressing issues facing family doctors today.”
While many Ontarians have family doctors, too many have access restricted due to distance.
Research conducted by the Upstream Lab at St. Michael’s Hospital showed that 670,000 Ontarians live at least 51 kilometres from their family doctor. Over 130,000 Ontarians live more than 200 kilometres from their family doctor.
“It’s too far, and it’s impacting how Ontarians receive care because they are not seeing their family doctor — or any family doctor — as often as patients who live closer,” said Dr. Archna Gupta, a family doctor and one of the researchers with Upstream Lab.
“Our data shows that without a family doctor nearby, patients may need to rely on hospital emergency departments more frequently and do not get screened for cancer as often,” Gupta added.
Over 11,000 Ontario patients died on surgical waiting lists in 2022. As of Oct. 2023, there were over 200,000 Ontarians on surgical waitlists throughout the province.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians said that having a family doctor improves health outcomes, reduces mortality, decreases hospitalizations, and reduces healthcare costs.
However, even those with family doctors have had problems. True North previously reported that a family doctor referred one of his patients to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, only for him to wait three years to see him.
Previous research showed Canadians faced the longest healthcare wait times ever recorded in 2023. On top of that, a previous national survey estimated that over one in five Canadian adults don’t have access to a family doctor.
CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians, Deepy Sur, applauded some of the provincial government’s work but said that more changes could be made.
“A solution that could support family doctors now is to dramatically reduce the amount of paperwork. Ontario’s family doctors report spending up to 19 hours a week on paperwork — time that would be better spent with patients,” reads the press release.
A report released in early 2023 showed that physicians lose hours equal to 55 million patient visits per year on unnecessary paperwork and administrative tasks. The report said 18.5 million hours of physician time was wasted annually.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians claimed that doctors’ compensation has not kept pace with inflation or reflects the increasingly complex care provided and has caused doctors to leave the profession.
Healthcare leaders previously warned that the capital gains tax hike would cause doctors to flee Canada to the United States for a more competitive and less taxed income.
“Family doctors want to continue to be there for Ontarians, but they need more support to do so,” concluded the release.