Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30129388›Full record

Observational studyJournal of primary care & community health

Family Physicians Attaching New Patients From Centralized Waiting Lists: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Mylaine Breton, Mélanie Ann Smithman, Nassera Touati, Antoine Boivin, Christine Loignon, Carl-Ardy Dubois, Kareen Nour, Catherine Lamoureux-Lamarche, Astrid Brousselle

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Journal of primary care & community health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Impact of changes in primary care attachment: a scoping review.Family medicine and community health · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Mylaine Breton1 Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil Campus, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5713-9618
Mélanie Ann Smithman1 Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil Campus, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Nassera Touati2 École nationale d'administration publique, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Antoine Boivin3 Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Christine Loignon1 Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil Campus, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Carl-Ardy Dubois3 Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Kareen Nour4 Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux-Montérégie-Centre, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Catherine Lamoureux-Lamarche1 Université de Sherbrooke, Longueuil Campus, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.
Astrid Brousselle5 University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIn response to more than 15% of Canadians not having a family physician, 7 provinces have implemented centralized waiting lists for unattached patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the association between family physicians' characteristics and their participation in centralized waiting lists.

methodsCross-sectional observational study using administrative data in 5 local health networks in Quebec, between 2013 and 2015. All physicians who had attached at least 1 patient were included (n = 580). Multivariate linear regressions for the number of patients and proportion of vulnerable patients attached per physician were performed.

resultsPhysicians with more than 20 years of experience represented more than half of those who had participated in the centralized waiting lists and physicians in traditional primary care models represented more than 40%. Physicians' number of years of practice, primary care model, local health network, and the number of physicians participating in the centralized waiting lists per clinic influenced physicians' participation. Physicians with 0 to 4 years of experience and those practicing in network clinics were found to attach more patients. Practicing in a Centre Locaux de Services Communautaires (local community service center) was associated with attaching 19% more vulnerable patients compared with practicing in a Family Medicine Unit (teaching unit).

conclusionCentralized waiting lists seem to be used by early career physicians to build up their patient panels. However, because of the large number of them participating in the centralized waiting lists, physicians with more experience and those practicing in traditional models of primary care might be of interest for future measures to decrease the number of patients waiting for attachment in centralized waiting lists.

Indexed as

Waiting ListsAdultCanadaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedPhysicians, FamilyPrimary Health CareQuebecVulnerable Populationscross-sectional studyfamily practicehealth services accessibilityprimary health careQuebecwaiting lists

Identifiers

PMID30129388
PMCPMC6104207

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.