海角社区官网

And while there are residents across the city who don鈥檛 have access to a family physician, the latest findings from the INSPIRE Primary Health Care project reveal a pattern of inequity, including a higher proportion of residents with the lowest incomes lacking a doctor compared to those with high incomes.

The data shows that at least 120,700 residents with the lowest incomes don鈥檛 have regular access to a family physician, with neighbourhoods located in Toronto鈥檚 west end, areas north of the downtown and Scarborough most affected by the discrepancy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly concerning to see those who are living in the lowest income brackets are more likely to be without a family physician,鈥� said Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, president of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP).

鈥淲e know that socioeconomic factors like access to food and safe housing drive health outcomes. And when you add to this a lack of access to a physician, this will absolutely negatively impact the health of those individuals.鈥�

The new 海角社区官网data mirrors provincial findings from INSPIRE released earlier this year that revealed more than 2.2 million Ontarians lacked a family doctor as of March 2022 鈥� up from about 1.8 million in March 2020.

Health-care leaders, medical organizations and physician groups have been calling for further investments in primary care and warning that targeted reforms are needed to ensure every Canadian is connected to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

They caution that a lack of access to primary care not only puts an individual鈥檚 health at risk, it also puts additional pressure on an already strained health-care system.

鈥淲e need bold reform to get us out of this crisis,鈥� said Dr. Tara Kiran, who leads a national research project called that is gathering public input on how to reform primary care. According to recent OurCare figures, more than 6.5 million Canadians over the age of 18 鈥� or more than one in five adults 鈥� do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

This week, OurCare released a report authored by a panel of 35 鈥渆veryday Ontarians鈥� who set out a suite of 23 recommendations to improve Ontario鈥檚 primary care system. The panel, randomly selected from more than 1,250 volunteers to represent the demographics of Ontario, with more weight given to equity-seeking groups, spent 39 hours learning about primary care and developing their recommendations.

Kiran, a family physician and scientist at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital, a part of Unity Health Toronto, said the public鈥檚 voice has been missing from discussions in primary care reform and that these recommendations provide new directions for government and policymakers.

鈥淭hese citizens together put forward a vision to change the system so it works for everyone,鈥� she said, noting equity is 鈥渁 foundational value鈥� in the panel鈥檚 recommendations. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e thinking not just about themselves, but their families, their communities and the system.鈥�

The recommends, among other things: the province expand access to team-based care; allow patients to access their electronic medical record and that this record follow them through the health system; broaden OHIP coverage to include mental health, vision, dental and pharmacare; and figure out why fewer medical students are choosing to practise family medicine.

The panel also advocated for a geographic model of primary care that automatically connects Ontario residents to a family doctor in their neighbourhood.

鈥淭he panel used the term 鈥榓utomatic rostering,鈥� which is akin to the way children have the right to automatically register at their local public school when they move into a neighbourhood,鈥� said Kiran, adding there are provisions for patient choice. 鈥淚 thought this was really a bold, clear statement of just how much we need to shift in the way we deliver primary care, and that the vision held front and centre is that everyone deserves access.鈥�

George Babu, a 45-year-old 海角社区官网resident and one of the 35 Ontario panellists, has not been able to find a family doctor since returning to Canada from the U.S. a few years ago. His family, including two children, relies on walk-in clinics and pharmacies for health care.

鈥淥ne of the recommendations that people really resonated with was the team-based approach,鈥� he said. 鈥淢any of us weren鈥檛 aware of this option.鈥�

For Babu, the panel offered a way to gain a deeper understanding of the health system and an opportunity to push for positive change. He said the experience showed him that citizen engagement is key to solving some of society鈥檚 entrenched problems.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a really powerful way to reduce the temperature in a lot of these conversations, because people can get in a room with someone with a very different political leaning and hear both the pain and the opportunities from somebody else with a different perspective.鈥�

Kiran said OurCare will be conducting similar panels in other provinces, including British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

The 海角社区官网INSPIRE data shows that between March 2020 and March 2022 at least 72,000 city residents lost access to their family doctor as physicians retired or left their practice for other health-care roles.

The OCFP estimates 海角社区官网would need 385 new family doctors to meet current demand, a target it says can鈥檛 be met given the ongoing shortage of primary care physicians, the low number entering the profession and the high number nearing retirement.

According to the OCFP, 2019 data suggests that 1.7 million Ontarians have a family doctor nearing retirement age.

Kumanan, the OCFP鈥檚 president, said increasing capacity in primary care is crucial, because the province will not be able to quickly find enough family doctors to address the gap in unattached patients. Expanding team-based care and minimizing administrative work can help, she said.

鈥淲e know that family doctors can easily spend 19 hours per week on administrative work. Reducing that burden allows family physicians to spend more time with their patients.鈥�