Family Physicians are the foundation of the Canadian health service providing comprehensive patient – centered care in the community. The data provided by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and the article published by the College of Family Physicians of Canada focuses on the Value and Volume of Family Physician Services, their importance, and their contribution to the health care system in Canada.

Comprehensive Patient Care

To understand the value and volume we must look at the principal source of comprehensive patient care. Family doctors are the crucial providers in primary care for Canadians. There scope of family practice includes all aspects of primary care with family doctors handling most health issues that patients face over their lifetime.

The CFPC article states that 80% of family doctors, in their first 3 years of practice have said they "provide comprehensive care to a current group of patients over the long term, providing primary care across the life cycle".

The patterns of family practice include emergency medicine, addiction medicine, mental health, maternal, newborn care, home long-term care and hospital care. 95% of Canadians have reported that their regular health provider is a family doctor and 19 out of every 20 providers is a family physician.

Here is just some of the medical care services that family physician in Canada provides.

49% of hospital-based assessment,

47% of Psychotherapy/ Counselling services,

47% of surgical assistance and

34% of obstetric deliveries.

According to the data from CIHI 52% of patient care is provided by family physicians in Canada which only accounts for 5.7% of the national health spending.

Family Physicians Clinical Leaders in Primary Care

Family Physicians are the clinical leaders in primary care. The patient and physician relationship is the main building block. The Physician's role is to communicate, manage, listen, and respond to their patients' needs, allowing the patient to feel comfortable consulting with their doctor, feeling safe and understood. Family medicine is a community discipline with the focus connecting the physician to their communities and neighbourhoods providing overall patient centered quality care

Data has revealed that monthly 238 out of 1,000 people in Canada which is almost 1 in 4 Canadians contact a family doctor rather than contact a nurse, another physician in a different specialty or spend a night in hospital care. When it comes to chronic medical conditions, in most cases it is the family physician who provides the care for the patients.

Data reported that a higher percentage of patients with hypertension received care by a family physician compared to a lower percentage who received care from both a family physician and specialist. In the case of patients with diabetes and COPD this was similar with the patient receiving sole care from the family physician, however there was a higher increase in the patients who also received care from the family physician and a specialist in these cases than those patients with hypertension.

The Role of Commitment and Dedication in Family Practice

The most important fact is that even though family physicians may face challenges, they are committed and dedicated to their patients and are willing to adapt their practice to serve their patient's demographic needs and those of their communities, by offering continuous comprehensive care.

Family Medicine adds value to the health care system, it is the connection between patients and other health services for Canadians, it is the foundation of which the Canadian health system is built on. It is the family physicians who are improving the overall quality of care for Canadians.

• Materials for this article we collected from: College of Family Physicians of Canada. Value and Volume of Family Physician Services. Mississauga, ON: College of Family Physicians of Canada; 2024