The number of family doctors in Ontario has declined over the last 30 years as more physicians switch to focused practice, including emergency departments and other hospital work, while millions of people remain without access to primary care, new research suggests.
One in five family doctors in Ontario were in focused practice in 2021, compared to one in 13 in 1993, a recent study published in the Annals of Family Medicine on May 27 found. The study looked at trends involving family physicians over the period from 1993 to 2022.
While the total number of family doctors increased over the study period from 104 to 118 per 100,000 people, the research indicated a decline in the number of family doctors delivering comprehensive care, dropping from 71 to 64 per 100,000 people. An additional 6,310 family doctors entered the workforce during that time, with 39.5 percent of them going into focused practice, the study said….