Patient Characteristics by Clinic Continuity
| Characteristic | Clinic Continuitya | P Value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | NA | Low | High | Complete | ||
| Patients, No. (%) | 350,180 (29.2) | 247,403 (20.6) | 167,033 (13.9) | 190,633 (15.9) | 244,751 (20.4) | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 45 (30-60) | 55 (35-65) | 45 (30-60) | 45 (30-60) | 50 (30-65) | <.001 |
| Sex, No. (%) | ||||||
| Male | 152,080 (43.4) | 124,704 (50.4) | 62,516 (37.4) | 78,314 (41.1) | 113,340 (46.3) | <.001 |
| Female | 198,100 (56.6) | 122,699 (49.6) | 104,517 (62.6) | 112,319 (58.9) | 131,411 (53.7) | |
| Complexity level,b No. (%) | <.001 | |||||
| 1-2 | 221,631 (63.3) | 159,360 (64.4) | 88,637 (53.1) | 113,142 (59.4) | 150,120 (61.3) | |
| 3-4 | 59,613 (17.0) | 35,793 (14.5) | 33,753 (20.2) | 33,368 (17.5) | 37,476 (15.3) | |
| 5-9 | 68,936 (19.7) | 52,250 (21.1) | 44,643 (26.7) | 44,123 (23.1) | 57,155 (23.4) | |
| Geographic zone, No. (%) | … | |||||
| 1 (South) | 21,586 (6.2) | 25,355 (10.2) | 10,366 (6.2) | 13,606 (7.1) | 23,139 (9.5) | |
| 2 (Calgary and area) | 154,541 (44.1) | 83,350 (33.7) | 76,004 (45.5) | 76,540 (40.2) | 78,341 (32.0) | |
| 3 (Central) | 26,995 (7.7) | 23,805 (9.6) | 19,041 (11.4) | 24,525 (12.9) | 33,855 (13.8) | |
| 4 (Edmonton) | 119,370 (34.1) | 89,076 (36.0) | 53,328 (31.9) | 63,725 (33.4) | 85,382 (34.9) | |
| 5 (North) | 27,688 (7.9) | 25,817 (10.4) | 8,294 (5.0) | 12,237 (6.4) | 24,034 (9.8) | |
| Location | … | |||||
| Metro | 265,873 (75.9) | 164,938 (66.7) | 124,912 (74.8) | 133,617 (70.1) | 152,375 (62.3) | |
| Urban | 42,142 (12.0) | 34,370 (13.9) | 17,285 (10.3) | 23,466 (12.3) | 29,577 (12.1) | |
| Rural | 42,165 (12.0) | 48,095 (19.4) | 24,836 (14.9) | 33,550 (17.6) | 62,799 (25.7) | |
| Physician continuity,c No. (%) | <.001 | |||||
| Low | 5,944 (1.7) | 0 (0.0) | 28,322 (17.0) | 31,577 (16.6) | 12,027 (4.9) | |
| Moderate | 194,120 (55.4) | 0 (0.0) | 112,401 (67.3) | 123,284 (64.7) | 117,875 (48.2) | |
| High | 150,116 (42.9) | 247,403 (100.0) | 26,310 (15.8) | 35,772 (18.8) | 114,849 (46.9) | |
| Total visits/patient, mean (SD) | 13.5 (11.5) | 10.2 (8.5) | 20.2 (17.1) | 16.1 (14.4) | 12.7 (10.8) | <.001 |
| Physician patient volume/day,d median (IQR) | 27.2 (20.4-37.5) | 27.5 (20.9-38.0) | 25.7 (19.4-34.6) | 25.2 (19.1-34.3) | 25.1 (19.1-34.2) | <.001 |
| ED visits during study period | ||||||
| Number/patient, mean (SD) | 2.2 (4.3) | 1.5 (3.2) | 3.3 (6.0) | 2.7 (5.3) | 2.0 (4.1) | <.001 |
| Patients with none, No. (%) | 128,849 (36.8) | 122,561 (49.5) | 46,630 (27.9) | 62,078 (32.6) | 102,663 (41.9) | <.001 |
| Number/patient among those with ≥1, mean (SD) | 3.6 (4.9) | 3.0 (3.9) | 4.6 (6.6) | 4.0 (6.0) | 3.5 (4.8) | <.001 |
| Hospitalizations during study period | ||||||
| Number/patient, mean (SD) | 0.3 (0.8) | 0.2 (0.6) | 0.5 (1.1) | 0.3 (0.9) | 0.2 (0.7) | <.001 |
| Patients with none, No. (%) | 282,855 (80.8) | 213,299 (86.2) | 123,288 (73.8) | 149,748 (78.6) | 205,603 (84.0) | <.001 |
| Number/patient among those with ≥1, mean (SD) | 1.5 (1.2) | 1.4 (1.0) | 1.7 (1.6) | 1.6 (1.4) | 1.5 (1.0) | <.001 |
ED = emergency department; CRG = clinical risk grouper; FP = family physician; GCR = group care rate; IQR = interquartile range; KPC = known provider of care; NA = not applicable.
Note: See Table 1 footnotes for category definitions.
↵a Based on GCR.
↵b Based on CRG.
↵c Based on KPC index.
↵d For the physician associated with the patient.