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Why do Canadians wait so long for doctor's appointments?
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Asked to describe the Canadian health care system in a few words, 66% of people polled by Leger said “long waits.” That’s especially true when it comes to primary care – the front door of the health care system.
How long is the wait to see a doctor in Canada?
To begin with, people in Canada are less likely to have a doctor they see regularly compared with peer countries.
- For the 29% of Canadians looking for a family doctor or nurse practitioner, finding one can take months or years. Most have been on the hunt for one to five years without success.
Even when you have a primary care provider, it can be tough to get an appointment quickly.
- In 2023, only 26% of Canadians were able to get a same-day or next-day appointment to see a doctor or nurse. That’s down from 46% in 2016.
- In a survey of 9,000 people, those with a dedicated doctor or nurse mostly waited two or more days for an appointment, with one in 20 waiting a month or more.
What’s behind waits for primary care?
- Demand for doctors is up as Canada’s population has gotten older.
- Signing up can be a pain. Many provinces have centralized wait lists or search tools for family doctors. But connecting doctors and patients using these tools can still take a lot of calling around and paperwork for both parties.
- Chronic underfunding. Although family doctors provide about 70% of medical services in Canada, provinces and territories spend just 5 to 7% of their health budgets on primary care. That’s about half as much as countries with high-performing systems.
Let’s talk solutions
What experts are saying:
Suggested short- and long-term solutions for fixing the front door of the health care system include:
- Offering incentives for doctors to work where they're needed most.
- Expanding team-based primary care to help doctors and specialists focus on the work they do best, and ensure patients are getting the right care at the right time.
- Embracing virtual care for quicker access to publicly funded care.
- Opening up more training spots in medical schools.
Where’d we get this information?
- Policy recommendations from the CMA, College of Family Physicians of Canada and Canadian Nurses Association
- CMA explainer, Why Canada’s health system needs (a lot more) team-based care
- 2022 OurCare survey of 9,000 people
- 2023 Commonwealth Fund data on primary care
