Practice Characteristics Included in the Statistical Model
| No. (%) | |
|---|---|
| Community size | |
| Large city center | 238 (30.36) |
| Suburbs | 133 (16.96) |
| (Small) town | 152 (19.39) |
| Mixed urban-rural | 107 (13.65) |
| Rural | 154 (19.64) |
| Funding model | |
| New model of primary care with special funding | 421 (53.16) |
| Traditional model | 371 (46.84) |
| Practice population size | |
| ≤800 | 185 (23.36) |
| 801–1600 | 310 (39.14) |
| 1,601–2,400 | 162 (20.45) |
| 2,401–3,200 | 71 (8.96) |
| >3,200 | 64 (8.08) |
| Wait time between scheduled appointment and consultation | |
| <15 min | 3,592 (50.08) |
| 15–30 min | 2,074 (28.92) |
| 31–45 min | 630 (8.78) |
| >46 min | 481 (6.70) |
| Hours of operation | |
| Clearly indicated outside office entrance | 480 (62.18) |
| Not clearly indicated | 276 (35.75) |
| How to get care outside of office hours | |
| Clearly indicated outside office entrance | 216 (27.98) |
| Not clearly indicated | 526 (68.13) |
| Parking for people with disabilities | |
| Yes | 684 (88.6) |
| No | 81 (10.49) |
| Physical accessibility of practice | |
| Ground floor | 477 (61.79) |
| Elevator | 255 (33.03) |
| No elevator/not ground floor | 35 (4.53) |
| Physical access for patients with a wheelchair or stroller | |
| Very easy | 453 (58.68) |
| Easy | 273 (35.36) |
| Difficult/Impossible to access | 46 (5.96) |
| Accessible toilet for patients with disabilities | |
| Yes | 672 (87.05) |
| No | 87 (11.27) |
Note: All practice characteristics were included in the model regardless of their significance (P <.05). Practice characteristics related to physical accessibility (last 6 characteristics above) were combined into 1 variable, “superior access.” The reference category for practice population size was 801–1600, as this response was most common. For wait time, we calculated each practice’s average wait time. Québec was chosen as a reference category for province because it represented the largest sample.