Study: Downside of No Family Doctor in Canada

(Toronto, Canada) According to a previous report, approximately 15% of Canadians aged 12 and older do not have a family doctor. A new study assesses the impact of not having a primary care physician.

A new report from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) reveals that not having a family doctor leads to more emergency room visits and hospital admissions for those who have chronic diseases in Ontario.

The report comes on the heels of a report from the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) that found since 2003, doctors have helped provide care to 630,000 patients who didn't have a doctor previously, leaving 850,000 Ontarians without a doctor.

"Recently, there has been some progress made in getting more people access to a family doctor, but it is clear that we must stay vigilant with our efforts or else we will continue to drain precious health resources and force patients to suffer unnecessarily," noted Dr. Ken Arnold, a family physician from Thunder Bay and President of the OMA.

"The lack of access to a family doctor, especially for those with chronic diseases, negatively impacts the quality of life of patients and places unnecessary stress on our hospitals and emergency rooms."

Frankly, I believe a study was not necessary to conclude that people without family doctors go to emergency rooms. That's obvious.