Few family physicians go it alone
CMAJ 1999;160:304
© 1999 Canadian Medical Association
A 1997 survey by the College of Family Physicians of Canada found that less than one-third (31%) of FPs and GPs are in solo practice. Less than half (49%) said a private office was their only practice setting, 22% reported practising in 2 settings, such as an office and an emergency department, and 29% said they practised in more than 2 settings.
Respondents indicated that Canada's FPs offer diverse services. More than half (53%) provide obstetrical care, although only 20% still deliver babies. Of those performing deliveries, the average number for male respondents was 32.7 per year, compared with 54.6 per year for their female colleagues.
A significant proportion (27%) reported that surgical procedures such as appendectomies and hysterectomies accounted for a small part of their practice time, and 35% offer alternative and complementary medicine. Well over half (59%) perform minor surgery; of these, 52% performed surgery on the skin and more than 1 in 5 (21%) repaired lacerations or wounds.
| Procedure | Family physicians who perform procedure (%) |
| Pap smears | 82.1 |
| Suturing | 79.1 |
| Musculoskeletal injection/aspiration | 69.1 |
| Minor surgery | 58.5 |
| Biopsy | 50.1 |
| Casting/splinting | 44.9 |
| ECG interpretation | 41.6 |
| Needle aspiration | 38.8 |
| Lumbar puncture | 19.4 |
| Pulmonary function testing | 19.0 |
| Audiometry | 9.0 |
| D+C aspiration | 8.6 |
| This information is from the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s National Family Physician Workforce Database. | |
On average, family physicians surveyed work a total of 50.3 hours per week (excluding on-call services), with males working 53.2 hours per week compared with 44.2 hours for female FPs. Almost three-quarters (72%) of family physicians said they regularly participate in on-call activities.
This column was written by Lynda Buske, chief, physician resources information planning, CMA. Readers may send potential research topics to Patrick Sullivan (sullip@cma.ca; 613 731-8610 or 800 663-7336 x2126; fax 613 565-2382).
 |
Send a letter to the editor Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction |
Autres chroniques Médicogramme |
