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With 5.4 million Canadian adults reporting that they do not have regular access to primary care, many patients without family doctors — or who need care after hours — turn to the ED.

“When access to a regular care provider is challenging, people often turn to emergency departments to receive the care they need,” says Sunita Karmakar-Hore, Manager, ������ϱ� System Performance Reporting at CIHI. “There they face long wait times without the benefit of seeing a family doctor who knows them and their health history.”

The results show that of the 15% of visits to the ED that were for conditions that could potentially have been managed in primary care, over half of these were for conditions that could have been managed virtually (representing 9% of total ED visits).

The report also suggests that not all Canadians use the emergency department for primary care needs equally. For instance, in children age 2 to 9, 26% of ED visits were for conditions that could potentially be managed in primary care — a rate markedly higher than for other age groups.

The report is based on 2 new indicators:

• Visits to the Emergency Department for Conditions That Could Be Managed in Primary Care  
• Visits to the Emergency Department for Conditions That Could Be Managed Virtually in Primary Care

These indicators developed by ������ϱ�provide more information that will help health system leaders measure and improve access to primary and virtual care.

The results provide a baseline measure from which to monitor access to primary care and track improvement over time.

The indicator results are available in the web tool at the provincial, territorial and regional levels. A companion report is available to provide context and assist with interpretation.

In addition to the release of the 2 new indicators measuring access to primary and virtual care, ������ϱ�has also updated the results for 47 existing health system performance indicators and 19 contextual measures in the web tool, and 27 indicators in the .

The Canadian Institute for ������ϱ� Information (CIHI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing essential health information to all Canadians.

������ϱ�works closely with federal, provincial and territorial partners and stakeholders throughout Canada to gather, package and disseminate information to inform policy, management, care and research, leading to better and more equitable health outcomes for all Canadians. 

������ϱ� information has become one of society’s most valuable public goods. For more than 30 years, ������ϱ�has set the pace on data privacy, security, accessibility and innovation to improve Canada’s health systems. 

CIHI: Better data. Better decisions. ������ϱ�ier Canadians. 

For English and French inquiries:

Alya Niang
 media@cihi.ca