More than half of Canadians delayed or skipped care: survey
· Toronto Sun
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A new survey is shedding light on the challenges many Canadians have experienced trying to see a doctor and how distances to healthcare options influence where they live.
More than half (55%) said they have delayed or skipped care because accessing it was too difficult while about three in five Canadians (61%) worry about how quickly they could reach care in an emergency.
That’s according to an online survey of 1,049 adults this year by MedExpress Canada, and online healthcare and telemedicine platform, to examine how location, wait times, doctor shortages, and distance shape access to healthcare.
“For many Canadians, getting care isn’t as simple as booking an appointment and showing up,” MedExpress Canada’s Care Radius Report states. “It can mean long waits, a drive to the nearest specialist, or piecing together a plan on your own when there’s no family doctor to call.”
Rural vs. urban care
The state of accessing care for rural Canadians is much more stark, with about three in four (76%) residents saying they travel 30 minutes or more for specialist care as compared with about half (49%) of people in urban areas.
Ontario led all provinces with the highest share of residents travelling 30 minutes or more for specialist care (60%), followed by Quebec (55%), British Columbia (52%), and Alberta (45%).
In addition, nearly half (48%) of rural residents say their location puts them at a healthcare disadvantage while just 15% of urban residents said the same.
Some have no family doctor
The survey also found about one in five (21%) have no family doctor. Respondent said the top three barriers to getting care are long appointment waits (64%), long emergency room waits (59%), and a shortage of specialists or doctors (43%).
“When care feels out of reach, a surprising number of Canadians have considered moving, and rural residents feel the squeeze most,” the survey authors noted.
Nearly one-third (31%) of millennials said they would relocate or were actively considering it, followed by Gen Z (27%), Gen X (21%), and baby boomers (10%).
The survey found Quebec residents are the most likely to have moved or considered moving (29%) to access healthcare, compared with Ontario (26%), Alberta (26%), and British Columbia (24%).