Number of Ontarians without family doctor reaches 2.5 million, college says – CBC

Increase of more than 160,000 since last count 6 months ago

Jul 12, 2024

There are now 2.5 million people in Ontario who don’t have a family doctor, the Ontario College of Family Physicians said on Thursday.

That’s an increase of more than 160,000 people since the last count was released six months ago, said Dr. Jobin Varughese, the incoming president of the college.

“It’s really concerning,” the Brampton, Ont., family physician said in an interview.

“It means that people are more likely to turn towards walk-in clinics, urgent care (and) emergency departments where they will see a new person every time and lead to fragmented care,” he said, adding that those patients are more likely to miss preventive cancer screenings.

The figures come from the latest data collected in September 2023 by research firm Inspire Primary Health Care, the college said.

The data is updated every six months and counts people as not having a family doctor if they are “uncertainly attached” — meaning they aren’t rostered with a specific doctor or community health centre that provides their care continuously. That includes people who get care from walk-in clinics and emergency departments, as well as people who don’t use primary care at all.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-family-doctor-shortage-record-high-1.7261558