Impact of Team-Based Care on Emergency Department Use

Public experiences and perspectives of primary care in Canada: results from a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

Through medicare, residents in Canada are entitled to medically necessary physician services without paying out of pocket, but still many people struggle to access primary care. We conducted a survey to explore people's experience with and priorities for primary care.

METHODS

We conducted an online, bilingual survey of adults in Canada in fall 2022. We distributed an anonymous link through diverse channels and a closed link to 122 053 people via a national public opinion firm. We weighted completed responses to mirror Canada's population and adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics using regression models.

RESULTS

We analyzed 9279 completed surveys (5.9% response rate via closed link). More than one-fifth of respondents (21.8%) reported having no primary care clinician, and among those who did, 34.5% reported getting a same or next-day appointment for urgent issues. Of respondents, 89.4% expressed comfort seeing another team member if their doctor recommended it, but only 35.9%, 9.5%, and 12.4% reported that their practice had a nurse, social worker, or pharmacist, respectively. The primary care attribute that mattered most was having a clinician who "knows me as a person and considers all the factors that affect my health." After we adjusted for respondent characteristics, people in Quebec, the Atlantic region, and British Columbia had lower odds of reporting a primary care clinician than people in Ontario (adjusted odds ratio 0.30, 0.33, and 0.39, respectively; p < 0.001). We also observed large provincial variations in timely access, interprofessional care, and walk-in clinic use.

INTERPRETATION

More than 1 in 5 respondents did not have access to primary care, with large variation by province. Reforms should strive to expand access to relationship-based, longitudinal care in a team setting.

Primary care services and emergency department visits in blended fee-for-service and blended capitation models: evidence from Ontario, Canada

INTRODUCTION

It is well-known that the way physicians are remunerated can affect delivery of health care services to the population. Fee-for-service (FFS) generally leads to oversupply of services, while capitation leads to undersupply of services. However, little evidence exists on the link between remuneration and emergency department (ED) visits. We fill this gap using two popular blended models introduced in Ontario, Canada: the Family Health Group (FHG), an enhanced/blended FFS model, and Family Health Organization (FHO), a blended capitation model. We compare primary care services and rates of emergency department ED visits between these two models. We also evaluate whether these outcomes vary by regular- and after-hours, and patient morbidity status.

METHODS

Physicians practicing in an FHG or FHO between April 2012 and March 2017 and their enrolled adult patients were included for analyses. The covariate-balancing propensity score weighting method was used to remove the influence of observable confounding and negative-binomial and linear regression models were used to evaluate the rates of primary care services, ED visits, and the dollar value of primary care services delivered between FHGs and FHOs. Visits were stratified as regular- and after-hours. Patients were stratified into three morbidity groups: non-morbid, single-morbid, and multimorbid (two or more chronic conditions).

RESULTS

6184 physicians and their patients were available for analysis. Compared to FHG physicians, FHO physicians delivered 14% (95% CI 13%, 15%) fewer primary care services per patient per year, with 27% fewer services during after-hours (95% CI 25%, 29%). Patients enrolled to FHO physicians made 27% more less-urgent (95% CI 23%, 31%) and 10% more urgent (95% CI 7%, 13%) ED visits per patient per year, with no difference in very-urgent ED visits. Differences in the pattern of ED visits were similar during regular- and after-hours. Although FHO physicians provided fewer services, multimorbid patients in FHOs made fewer very-urgent and urgent ED visits, with no difference in less-urgent ED visits.

CONCLUSION

Primary care physicians practicing in Ontario's blended capitation model provide fewer primary care services compared to those practicing in a blended FFS model. Although the overall rate of ED visits was higher among patients enrolled to FHO physicians, multimorbid patients of FHO physicians make fewer urgent and very-urgent ED visits.

Thinking and Enacting the Patient Medical Home Under Pandemic Conditions: A Qualitative Study From Primary Care in Alberta, Canada

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 (C19) pandemic shocked primary care systems around the world. Those systems responded by supporting patients in the community, and acute care facilities in crisis. In Canada, the Patient Medical Home (PMH) is a widely adopted care model that aims to operationalize the tenets and principles of Primary Health Care (PHC) as developed since the Alma-Ata Declaration. This paper describes how personnel working in and with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Alberta, Canada deployed the PMH model and its underlying PHC principles to frame and respond to the C19 shock.

METHODS

Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, we interviewed 57 participants who worked in public health and primary care, including community-based family physicians. We used interpretive description to analyze the interviews.

RESULTS

PCN staff and physicians described how the PMH model was foundational to normal operations, and how C19 responses were framed by the patient-centric, team-delivered, and continuous care principles the model shares with PHC. Specifically, participants described ensuring access to care, addressing the social determinants of health, being patient centered, and redeploying and expanding PHC teams to accomplish these goals.

DISCUSSION

Delivering PHC through the PMH allowed physicians and allied health staff to deliver patient-centered, team-based, holistic bio-medical services to Albertans. In tailoring services to meet the specific social and health needs of the populations served by each PCN, healthcare providers were able to ensure relevant support remained available and accessible.

Understanding the influence of medical education on physician geographic disposition: A qualitative study of family physician perspectives in Canada

RATIONALE

Primary care access challenges are experienced by many communities. In several jurisdictions, including Canada, family physicians (FP) have the professional autonomy to organize their practice in alignment with professional and personal interests. Although system-level interventions are tremendously important, investment in upstream interventions associated with the medical education of graduating FPs is a promising strategy for ameliorating primary healthcare access challenges.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This study investigates the medical education experiences that influence FP's decisions about practice locations in Canada.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with FPs who completed undergraduate and postgraduate medical training in Canada and now have a practice in Ontario, Canada. Interview data were coded and analysed using an unconstrained descriptive approach.

RESULTS

FPs preferred practice locations are intimately tied to their desired practice scope. Practice preferences were shaped through training experiences with patient populations, heightened clinical responsibilities, practice models and locations, professional mentorships and networks. Proximity to family, partner and lifestyle preferences, cultural connections and the available practice opportunities also shaped practice location decisions.

CONCLUSION

Medical education influences the identification and refinement of professional family practice preferences. Health workforce policies and interventions should leverage medical education to promote more equitable primary healthcare access.

The impact of team-based primary care on medication-related outcomes in older adults: A comparative analysis of two Canadian provinces

Objective

To evaluate if access to team-based primary care is related to medication management outcomes for older adults.

Methods

We completed two retrospective cohort studies using administrative health data for older adults (66+) in Ontario (n = 428,852) and Québec (n = 310,198) who were rostered with a family physician (FP) between the 2001/02 and 2017/18 fiscal years. We generated matched comparison groups of older adults rostered to an FP practicing in a team-based model, and older adults rostered to an FP in a non-team model. We compared the following outcomes between these groups: any adverse drug reactions (ADRs), any potentially inappropriate prescription (PIP), and polypharmacy. Average treatment effects of access to team-based care were estimated using a difference-in-differences estimator.

Results

The risk of an ADR was 22 % higher (RR = 1.22, 95 % CI = 1.18, 1.26) for older adults rostered to a team-based FP in Québec and 6 % lower (RR = 0.943, 95 % CI = 0.907, 0.978) in Ontario. However, absolute risk differences were less than 0.5 %. Differences in the risk of polypharmacy were small in Québec (RR = 1.005, 95 % CI = 1.001, 1.009) and Ontario (RR = 1.004, 95 % CI = 1.001, 1.007) and had absolute risk differences of less than 1 % in both provinces. Effects on PIP were not statistically or clinically significant in adjusted models.

Interpretation

We did not find evidence that access to team-based primary care in Ontario or Québec meaningfully improved medication management outcomes for older adults.

Access to a regular primary care physician among young people with early psychosis in Ontario, Canada

AIM

Access to a primary care physician in early psychosis facilitates help-seeking and engagement with psychiatric treatment. We examined access to a regular primary care physician in people with early psychosis, compared to the general population, and explored factors associated with access.

METHODS

Using linked health administrative data from Ontario (Canada), we identified people aged 14-35 years with a first diagnosis of nonaffective psychotic disorder (n = 39 449; 2005-2015). We matched cases to four randomly selected general population controls based on age, sex, neighbourhood, and index date (n = 157 796). We used modified Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) for access to a regular primary care physician in the year prior to first diagnosis of psychotic disorder, and the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with access.

RESULTS

A larger proportion of people with early psychosis had a regular primary care physician, relative to the general population (89% vs. 68%; PR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.30-1.31). However, this was accounted for by a higher prevalence of comorbidities among people with psychosis, and this association was no longer present after adjustment (PR = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.97, 0.98). People with early psychosis who were older, male, refugees and those residing in lower income or high residential instability neighbourhoods were less likely to have a regular primary care physician.

CONCLUSION

Approximately one in ten young people with early psychosis in Ontario lack access to a regular primary care physician. Strategies to improve primary care physician access are needed for management of physical comorbidities and to ensure continuity of care.

Training in Team-Based Practices: A Descriptive Analysis of Family Medicine Postgraduate Site Distribution across Canada

Background

College of Family Physicians of Canada accreditation policies contemplate exemplary ratings for postgraduate family medicine programs that train residents in sites aligned with the Patient's Medical Home (PMH) vision. This may overrepresent the PMH in training relative to what is available in independent practice.

Methods

We appraised training sites to describe the degree to which PMH features are present in family medicine education across the country.

Results

More than half (70.7%) of Canadian training sites reflect PMH features.

Conclusion

Education policy that incentivizes PMH in training may create downstream tension for physicians who find these practices unavailable upon graduation.

Delivering Team-Based Primary Care for the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: An Interpretive Description Qualitative Study of Healthcare Provider Perspectives

Background

Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and disabling health issue. Team-based models of primary care are ideally positioned to provide comprehensive care for patients with chronic LBP. A better understanding of primary care team perspectives can inform future efforts to improve how team-based care is provided for patients with chronic LBP in this practice setting.

Aims

The aim of this study was to understand health care providers' experiences, perceived barriers and facilitators, and recommendations when providing team-based primary care for the management of chronic LBP.

Methods

We conducted an interpretive description qualitative study based on focus group discussions with health care providers from team-based primary care settings in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

We conducted five focus groups with five different primary care teams, including a total of 31 health care providers. We constructed four themes (each with subthemes) related to experiences, perceived barriers and facilitators, and recommendations to providing team-based primary care for the management of chronic LBP, including (1) care pathways and models of service delivery, (2) team processes and organization, (3) team culture and environment, and (4) patient needs and readiness.

Conclusions

Primary care teams are implementing diverse care pathways and models of service delivery for the management of patients with chronic LBP, which can be influenced by patient, team, and organizational factors. Results have potential implications for future research and practice innovations to improve how team-based primary care is delivered for patients with chronic LBP.

Rates of Hospital-Based Care among Older Adults in the Community and Residential Care Facilities: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

We examine annual rates of emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, and alternate levels of care (ALC) days (ie, the number of days that an older adult remained in hospital when they could not be safely discharged to an appropriate setting in their community) among older adults.

DESIGN

Repeated cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Linked, individual-level health system administrative data on community-dwelling persons, home care recipients, residents of assisted living facilities, and residents of nursing homes aged 65 years and older in Ontario, Canada, from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2019.

METHODS

We calculated rates of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days per 1000 individuals per older adult population per year. We used a generalized linear model with a gaussian distribution, log link, and year fixed effects to obtain rate ratios.

RESULTS

There were 1,655,656 older adults in the community, 237,574 home care recipients, 42,600 older adults in assisted living facilities, and 94,055 older adults in nursing homes in 2013; there were 2,129,690 older adults in the community, 281,028 home care recipients, 56,975 older adults in assisted living facilities, and 95,925 older adults in nursing homes in 2019. Residents of assisted living facilities had the highest rates of ED visits (1260.692019 vs 1174.912013), hospital admissions (482.632019 vs 480.192013), and ALC days (1905.572019 vs 1443.032013) per 1000 individuals. Residents of assisted living facilities also had significantly higher rates of ED visits [rate ratio (RR) 3.30, 95% CI 3.20, 3.41), hospital admissions (RR 6.24, 95% CI 6.01, 6.47), and ALC days (RR 25.68, 95% CI 23.27, 28.35) relative to community-dwelling older adults.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The disproportionate use of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days among residents of assisted living facilities may be attributed to the characteristics of the population and fragmented licensing and regulation of the sector, including variable models of care. The implementation of interdisciplinary, after-hours, team-based approaches to home and primary care in assisted living facilities may reduce the potentially avoidable use of ED visits, hospital admissions, and ALC days among this population and optimize resource allocation in health care systems.

Family physicians' experiences with an innovative, community-based, hybrid model of in- person and virtual care: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Rural, remote, and underserved communities have often struggled to provide adequate access to family physicians. To bridge this gap in Renfrew County, a large, rural region in Ontario, Canada, a community- based, hybrid care model was implemented, combining virtual care from family physicians and in-person care from community paramedics. Studies have demonstrated the clinical and cost effectiveness of this model but its acceptability to physicians has not been examined. This study investigates the experiences of participating family physicians.

METHODS

A mixed-methods study, combining physician questionnaire response data and qualitative thematic analysis of focus group interview data.

RESULTS

Data was collected from n = 17 survey respondents and n = 9 participants in two semi-structured focus groups (n = 4 and n = 5 respectively). Physicians reported high satisfaction, driven by skills development and patient gratitude, and felt empowered to reduce ED visits, care for unattached patients, and address simple medical needs. However, physicians found it difficult to provide continuous care and were sometimes unfamiliar with local healthcare resources.

CONCLUSION

This study found that a hybrid model of in-person and virtual care from family physicians and community paramedics was associated with positive physician experiences in two main areas: clinical impacts, especially avoiding unnecessary ED visits, and physician satisfaction with the service. Potential improvements for this hybrid model were identified, and include better support for patients with complex needs, and more information about local health-system services. Our findings should be of interest to policymakers and administrators seeking to improve access to care through a hybrid model of in-person and virtual care.

Virtual Care and Emergency Department Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Patients of Family Physicians in Ontario, Canada

Importance

The COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in increased use of virtual care in primary care. However, few studies have examined the association between virtual primary care visits and other health care use.

Objective

To evaluate the association between the percentage of virtual visits in primary care and the rate of emergency department (ED) visits.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study used routinely collected administrative data and was conducted in Ontario, Canada. The sample comprised family physicians with at least 1 primary care visit claim between February 1 and October 31, 2021, and permanent Ontario residents who were alive as of March 31, 2021. All residents were assigned to physicians according to enrollment and billing data.

Exposure

Family physicians' virtual visit rate was the exposure. Physicians were stratified by the percentage of total visits that they delivered virtually (via telephone or video) during the study period (0% [100% in person], >0%-20%, >20%-40%, >40%-60%, >60%-80%, >80% to <100%, or 100%).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Population-level ED visit rate was calculated for each stratum of virtual care use. Multivariable regression models were used to understand the relative rate of patient ED use after adjusting for rurality of practice, patient characteristics, and 2019 ED visit rates.

Results

Data were analyzed for a total of 13 820 family physicians (7114 males [51.5%]; mean [SD] age, 50 [13.1] years) with 12 951 063 patients (6 714 150 females [51.8%]; mean [SD] age, 42.6 [22.9] years) who were attached to these physicians. Most physicians provided between 40% and 80% of care virtually. A higher percentage of the physicians who provided more than 80% of care virtually were 65 years or older, female individuals, and practiced in big cities. Patient comorbidity and morbidity were similar across strata of virtual care use. The mean (SD) number of ED visits was highest among patients whose physicians provided only in-person care (470.3 [1918.8] per 1000 patients) and was lowest among patients of physicians who provided more than 80% to less than 100% of care virtually (242.0 [800.3] per 1000 patients). After adjustment for patient characteristics, patients of physicians with more than 20% of visits delivered virtually had lower rates of ED visits compared with patients of physicians who provided more than 0% to 20% of care virtually (eg, >80% to <100% vs >0%-20% virtual visits in big cities: relative rate, 0.77%; 95% CI, 0.74%-0.81%). This pattern was unchanged across all rurality of practice strata and after adjustment for 2019 ED visit rates. In urban areas, there was a gradient whereby patients of physicians providing the highest level of virtual care had the lowest ED visit rates.

Conclusions and Relevance

Findings of this study show that patients of physicians who provided a higher percentage of virtual care did not have higher ED visit rates compared with patients of physicians who provided the lowest levels of virtual care. The findings refute the hypothesis that family physicians providing more care virtually during the pandemic resulted in higher ED use.

Walk-in clinic patient characteristics and utilization patterns in Ontario, Canada: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Walk-in clinics are common in North America and are designed to provide acute episodic care without an appointment. We sought to describe a sample of walk-in clinic patients in Ontario, Canada, which is a setting with high levels of primary care attachment.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study using health administrative data from 2019. We compared the sociodemographic characteristics and health care utilization patterns of patients attending 1 of 72 walk-in clinics with those of the general Ontario population. We examined the subset of patients who were enrolled with a family physician and compared walk-in clinic visits to family physician visits.

RESULTS

Our study found that 562 781 patients made 1 148 151 visits to the included walk-in clinics. Most (70%) patients who attended a walk-in clinic had an enrolling family physician. Walk-in clinic patients were younger (mean age 36 yr v. 41 yr, standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.24), yet had greater health care utilization (moderate and high use group 74% v. 65%, SMD 0.20) than the general Ontario population. Among enrolled Ontarians, walk-in patients had more comorbidities (moderate and high count 50% v. 45%, SMD 0.10), lived farther from their enrolling physician (median 8 km v. 6 km, SMD 0.21) and saw their enrolling physician less in the previous year (any visit 67% v. 80%, SMD 0.30). Walk-in encounters happened more often after hours (16% v. 9%, SMD 0.20) and on weekends (18% v. 5%, SMD 0.45). Walk-in clinics were more often within 3 km of patients' homes than enrolling physicians' offices (0 to < 3 km: 32% v. 22%, SMD 0.21).

INTERPRETATION

Our findings suggest that proximity of walk-in clinics and after-hours access may be contributing to walk-in clinic use among patients enrolled with a family physician. These findings have implications for policy development to improve the integration of walk-in clinics and longitudinal primary care.