“Better Than No Doctor”: Many Ontarians Travel 30+ Kilometres for Family Physician

A new study found that nearly 13% of Ontarians live 30 kilometres or more from their family doctor.

The findings, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, examined close to 10 million individuals in urban and suburban settings who were enrolled with a general practitioner as of March 31, 2023.

“[The big thing for me was] 12.7% of the population, or over 1.2 million Ontarians, live greater than 30 kilometres away from their family doctor or the primary care team,” Dr. Archna Gupta, the study’s lead author, told CP24 — noting that the number could be even larger if remote communities were included.

“For many of them, it was simply that they couldn’t find a doctor locally, so having a doctor far away was better than having no doctor at all.”

The study comes as Ontario invests approximately $2.1 billion in its Primary Care Action Plan, which aims to connect all residents with a family doctor or primary care team by 2029.

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