Emily Gard Marshall1, Sacha Nadeau2, Beverly Lawson2, Richard J Gibson3, Imhokhai Ogah4. 1. Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans' Memorial Lane, Abbie J. Lane Building, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada. Emily.Marshall@dal.ca. 2. Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans' Memorial Lane, Abbie J. Lane Building, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada. 3. Department of Family Practice, Mumford Professional Centre, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, NS, Canada. 4. Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether socio-economic status (SES) and presence of a chronic condition are associated with the response a prospective patient receives when seeking a family physician (FP). METHODS: Scripted telephone calls (indicating higher or lower SES and presence or absence of a chronic condition) were made to all 327 FP offices in Nova Scotia (NS) requesting an appointment. The main outcome measures were the responses to callers seeking a FP: being accepted for an appointment or being offered further assistance if not accepted (e.g., walk-in clinic, alternative provider, and telehealth), as well as the callers' perception of the experience as positive, negative, or neutral. RESULTS: Only 9.9% of offices accepted callers as new patients. There were no statistically significant differences by SES or chronic condition in the proportion of calls resulting in an appointment. Callers indicating high SES were more likely to be provided further assistance than those with low SES (p = 0.06), and callers indicating a chronic condition reported a better overall experience than those without (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: First contact accessibility for prospective new patients was low across NS. Lower SES was associated with fewer offers of additional assistance than higher SES. This is particularly troubling since those with lower SES may need additional support as they may have less access to resources and networks that could provide support. This study signals the need to improve general and equitable accessibility to primary care providers.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether socio-economic status (SES) and presence of a chronic condition are associated with the response a prospective patient receives when seeking a family physician (FP). METHODS: Scripted telephone calls (indicating higher or lower SES and presence or absence of a chronic condition) were made to all 327 FP offices in Nova Scotia (NS) requesting an appointment. The main outcome measures were the responses to callers seeking a FP: being accepted for an appointment or being offered further assistance if not accepted (e.g., walk-in clinic, alternative provider, and telehealth), as well as the callers' perception of the experience as positive, negative, or neutral. RESULTS: Only 9.9% of offices accepted callers as new patients. There were no statistically significant differences by SES or chronic condition in the proportion of calls resulting in an appointment. Callers indicating high SES were more likely to be provided further assistance than those with low SES (p = 0.06), and callers indicating a chronic condition reported a better overall experience than those without (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: First contact accessibility for prospective new patients was low across NS. Lower SES was associated with fewer offers of additional assistance than higher SES. This is particularly troubling since those with lower SES may need additional support as they may have less access to resources and networks that could provide support. This study signals the need to improve general and equitable accessibility to primary care providers.
Entities:
Keywords:
Primary health care; access to health care; chronic disease; general practice; health equity; social class
Authors: Matthew Grigsby; Trishul Siddharthan; Muhammad Ah Chowdhury; Ali Siddiquee; Adolfo Rubinstein; Edgardo Sobrino; J Jaime Miranda; Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz; Dewan Alam; William Checkley Journal: Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis Date: 2016-10-05