Canada falls short in access to family doctors compared to other OECD countries

We love Canada but must admit that other countries are superior in certain areas—things like better sun, tastier cuisine, and, crucially, better access to family doctors.

Driving the news: Canadian access to family doctors lags well behind that of other OECD countries with public healthcare systems, according to a new University of Toronto study that compared healthcare systems in Denmark, the UK, Finland, France, Germany and more.

• Only 80% of Canadians have a family doctor, while upwards of 95% of citizens have one in the nine other OECD countries that Canada was compared to in the study.

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Why it’s happening: The study notes several key differences in how those health systems function, including a bigger focus on guaranteed access, more doctors, better organization and info sharing, fewer hyper-specialized clinics, and higher rates of primary care funding.

• Canada spent the least of its health budget on primary care (5.3% vs. the OECD average of 8.1%) and had the fewest number of physicians per capita.
• And while Canadians can spend years on end looking for a doctor, countries like Norway and Finland register people to a doctor or health centre automatically.

Why it matters: Canada’s family doctor dilemma is going to get worse before it gets better, with enrolment in family doctor programs dropping. Whether mimicking other OECD nations will fix things, as this report implies, is unknown, but clearly, something has to change.

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