Living far from the doctor seriously harms your health

live more than 30km from a family doctor can negatively affect access to health care, according to a new study from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, published in CMAJ (Canadian medical Association Journal).

In the last ten years, Access to primary care has decreased in Canada and this decline was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after moving, many patients reported that they continued to see their family doctors, despite having to travel greater distances to see them.

“Distance to health care services is an important determinant of health and can be classified as a factor in health care utilization, with greater distance being a potential barrier to receiving care,” explains the doctor. Archna GuptaUpstream Lab scientist and family physician at St. Michael’s.

To analyze the effect of distance between family doctors and their patients, the researchers carried out a study with data as of March 31, 2023. The study, which involved almost 10 million patients in the province of Ontario (the largest in Canada), revealed that a 13% of patients lived more than 30km from your family doctor.

Patients who lived more than 30km They were more likely to go to the emergency department for non-urgent reasons and had had fewer visits to their family doctor in the previous two years. Furthermore, they tended to be men, younger than 65 yearsnewcomers to Ontario or residents of low-income neighborhoods.

“Our research shows that people go to A&E not only because they don’t have a GP or can’t get an appointment, but also because their GP may be too far away for them to get to easily. “Distance makes it difficult for many Ontarians to receive the care they need when they need it most.”explains Dr Archna Gupta.

Patients who lived more than 150km from their primary care physician were more likely to go to the emergency room for non-urgent reasons and less likely to consult with their doctor. Likewise, the farther patients lived from their primary care doctor, the less likely they were to undergo screening for colorectal, breast, or cervical cancer.

The authors hope that this study will help policy makers in healthcare planning. “Taking into account distance to the family doctor can provide policymakers with a more accurate understanding of unmet demand for primary care. “Our findings suggest that reforms should prioritize the provision of primary care at a minimum of 30 km from the patient’s home.”the authors conclude.