15.87°C Vancouver

Jan 30, 2020 4:09 PM -

Care access up in Canada but electronic medical-record use lags behind

Share On

Family doctors in Canada are providing increased access to care compared with most of their counterparts in 10 other countries but still lag behind when it comes to using electronic medical records, findings of a survey show.

The Commonwealth Fund Survey also found few doctors can share patients' lab and diagnostic test results because health systems are not fully connected.

It involved over 13,000 doctors, 2,500 of them from Canada, and was the basis of a report released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Physicians from Germany, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden also participated in the 2019 survey, which showed doctors in all the countries saw an average of 99 patients a week.

Doctors in Germany saw 200 patients a week, the highest number, with physicians in France seeing 120.

Doctors in Australia saw 110 and Canadian physicians tied in fourth place with the U.K. and Netherlands with 100 patients seen.

Swedish doctors saw the fewest number, at 40 patients a week, the data show.

In Canada, there was variability among jurisdictions, with doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador seeing 145 patients a week, the highest in the country, while those in Quebec and the territories saw 70 patients, the lowest number.

Access to care has improved for Canadian patients since 2015, with an increasing number of doctors working in group practice so patients can also be seen by their colleagues.

They have also provided more weeknight and weekend appointments versus their counterparts in the other countries, says the survey, which has been done every four years and for the first time since debuting 20 years ago has started including the territories.

It found 62 per cent of Canadian physicians think that better integration of primary care with hospitals, mental health services and community-based social services is the top priority in improving quality of care and patient access.

Use of electronic medical records has increased in Canada, with 86 per cent of doctors using them, up from 73 per cent four years earlier, the survey says, but the current number is still below the average of 93 per cent among all the countries.

Across Canada, 96 per cent of primary care physicians in the territories used electronic medical records, with Alberta in second place at 92 per cent and Prince Edward Island doctors last, with only 26 per cent of them using the technology.

Less than half of Canadian family doctors routinely used electronic medical records to support their quality-of-care decisions, with 26 per cent of them sending patients reminder notices for regular preventive or follow-up care, such as getting the flu vaccine.

The average among all the countries was 51 per cent, the data show. Tracy Johnson, director of health systems analysis and emerging issues for the Canadian Institute for Health Information, said the increasing use of electronic medical records has helped with co-ordination of care and should increase access to care. "When it's fully operational people can access appointments online, they can ask questions online so you might not have to come in for an appointment."

However, Johnson said some jurisdictions in Canada may not have billing codes allowing doctors to get paid when they communicate with patients via email.

The survey says 23 per cent of Canadian doctors offer patients the option to ask medical questions by email or a secure website versus the average of 65 per cent in the other countries.

It says 10 per cent of patients in Canada can request prescription renewals online compared with an average of 52 per cent elsewhere.

Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded not-for-profit organization, started funding provincial programs in the late 2000s to provide doctors with financial incentives and peer support to bring electronic medical records into their practices. Simon Hagens, senior director for performance analytics with Infoway, said increasing connection to centralized electronic health records allows family doctors to access data they need.

"Absolutely there is room for improvement in terms of connecting those systems and sharing information back and forth between local and provincial systems," he said.

Hagen said an initiative called Access 2022 aims to provide patients with their own health information and online services, such as booking doctors' appointments and connecting with their primary care providers by email.

Latest news

coquitlam-rcmp-announce-guilty-plea-after-lengthy-firearm-related-offence-investigation
BCJul 29, 2025

Coquitlam RCMP announce guilty plea after lengthy firearm related offence investigation

Following a lengthy police investigation into a 2021 shooting incident that occurred in Coquitlam, 36-year-old Sukhdeep Singh Pansal of Delta, British Columbia, has plead guilty to firearms related charges and has been sentenced to 38 months in prison. On January 16, 2021, at approximately 12:05 a.m., Coquitlam RCMP frontline officers responded to a report of shots fired from a high-rise building located in the 600 block of Whiting Way, Coquitlam. A woman was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to hospital. The Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team (ERT) ass
north-vancouver-rcmp-seek-publics-help-identifying-suspect-in-series-of-break-and-enters
BCJul 29, 2025

North Vancouver RCMP seek public’s help identifying suspect in series of Break and Enters

North Vancouver RCMP are seeking public assistance in identifying a suspect involved in three separate break and enter incidents. On July 8, 2025, North Vancouver RCMP received a report of a break and enter at a residential building in the 2100 block of Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver. CCTV footage from the building captured a male suspect gaining access at approximately 4:00 a.m. Nothing was stolen, but damage was caused to the property. On July 10, 2025, police received a second report from the same residential building. The suspect entered the premises and stole approximately $600 in c
seniors-advocate-says-b-c-will-need-almost-16-000-new-long-term-care-beds-by-2036
BCJul 29, 2025

Seniors advocate says B.C. will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036

A report from British Columbia's seniors' advocate say the province will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036 to meet the demands of an aging society. Dan Levitt's report tabled at the provincial legislature pegs the current shortfall at over 2,000 beds, and predicts the gap will "grow exponentially" over the next decade. It says the number of people waiting for beds has grown significantly in the past 10 years to 7, 212 in 2025, and people are also waiting longer. The average wait time for a long-term care bed had almost doubled to 290 days by 2024, according to the report, whic
vpd-investigates-strong-arm-robbery-of-senior
BCJul 29, 2025

VPD investigates strong-arm robbery of senior

Vancouver Police have released video of suspects in the alleged strong-arm robbery of an 84-year-old woman downtown on Sunday. The senior was standing near Homer and West Pender Street shortly before 11:30 a.m. on July 27 when she was approached by a man and woman who accused her of stealing from them. One suspect allegedly took the woman’s cane, while the other tried to take the purse off her shoulder. The senior held on to the purse until another person intervened. The suspects were last seen walking north on Homer Street. “Every indication suggests this senior was targeted because s
starmer-says-uk-will-recognize-palestinian-state-unless-israel-agrees-to-a-ceasefire
WorldJul 29, 2025

Starmer says UK will recognize Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September – unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace. Starmer called ministers together for a rare summertime Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza. He told them that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term

Related News