If you’re one of the estimated more than six million Canadians who can’t find a family doctor, it might be because they’re focusing on specialty care, the results of a new report suggest.
About 28 per cent of Canada’s 9,500-plus family physicians predominantly provide services outside of primary care, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)’s analysis of 2021 payment data, released Tuesday.
That means they mainly perform services in specific areas, compared to typical primary care duties, like office visits and assessments that don’t require a referral. For example, a family doctor with a general surgery profile would focus on services like minor surgical
