ArticleBMJ open2023
Characteristics of patients attached to near-retirement family physicians: a population-based serial cross-sectional study in Ontario, Canada.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Interprofessional teams and capacity in collaborative primary care: a rapid scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Toward a family medicine capability framework for Canada: From competence to capability.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026Article
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- Pandemic planning for primary care in Southwestern Ontario: protocol for a sequential multiple-methods design.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Trends colliding: Aging comprehensive family physicians and the growing complexity of their patients.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025Article
- Family Physicians in Focused Practice in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Level Study of Trends From 1993/1994 Through 2021/2022.Annals of family medicine · 2025Article
- Experiences and preferences of people without access to primary care: Results from a national cross-sectional survey in Canada.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadienArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPopulation ageing is a global phenomenon. Resultant healthcare workforce shortages are anticipated. To ensure access to comprehensive primary care, which correlates with improved health outcomes, equity and costs, data to inform workforce planning are urgently needed. We examined the medical and social characteristics of patients attached to near-retirement comprehensive primary care physicians over time and explored the early-career and mid-career workforce's capacity to absorb these patients.
designA serial cross-sectional population-based analysis using health administrative data.
settingOntario, Canada, where most comprehensive primary care is delivered by family physicians (FPs) under universal insurance.
participantsAll insured Ontario residents at three time points: 2008 (12 936 360), 2013 (13 447 365) and 2019 (14 388 566) and all Ontario physicians who billed primary care services (2008: 11 566; 2013: 12 693; 2019: 15 054). OUTCOME MEASURES: The number, proportion and health and social characteristics of patients attached to near-retirement age comprehensive FPs over time; the number, proportion and characteristics of near-retirement age comprehensive FPs over time. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The characteristics of patients and their early-career and mid-career comprehensive FPs.
resultsPatient attachment to comprehensive FPs increased over time. The overall FP workforce grew, but the proportion practicing comprehensiveness declined (2008: 77.2%, 2019: 70.7%). Over time, an increasing proportion of the comprehensive FP workforce was near retirement age. Correspondingly, an increasing proportion of patients were attached to near-retirement physicians. By 2019, 13.9% of comprehensive FPs were 65 years or older, corresponding to 1 695 126 (14.8%) patients. Mean patient age increased, and all physicians served markedly increasing numbers of medically and socially complex patients.
conclusionsThe primary care sector faces capacity challenges as both patients and physicians age and fewer physicians practice comprehensiveness. Nearly 15% (1.7 million) of Ontarians may lose their comprehensive FP to retirement between 2019 and 2025. To serve a growing, increasingly complex population, innovative solutions are needed.
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