Researchers from Ottawa Hospital Describe Findings in Healthcare Management (Do Patients Retain Their Family Physicians After Long-term Care Entry? a Retrospective Cohort Study)

2021 JAN 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hospital & Nursing Home Daily -- Researchers detail new data in Health and Medicine - Healthcare Management. According to news reporting from Ottawa, Canada, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Older adults value and benefit from the long-standing relationship they have with their family physicians. This dynamic has not been researched in a long-term care (LTC, ie, nursing home) setting.”

Financial supporters for this research include Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario, Ontario QUILT (QUality for Individualswho require Long-Term support) Network (MOHLTC Grant), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care, Bruyere Center for Individualized Health.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from Ottawa Hospital, “We sought to determine the proportion of LTC residents who retain their community family physician within the first 180 days of LTC, and the resident, physician, and LTC home factors that may influence retention. Population-based retrospective cohort study. Individuals from Ontario, Canada, aged 60 years or older who were newly admitted to a LTC home between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2017. Residents were indexed upon LTC admission, and their data was linked across ICES databases. Residents were matched to their rostered family physician, and physician retention was defined as having at least 1 visit by their matched physician within 0 to 90 days and 90 to 180 days of LTC admission. Out of 50,089 LTC residents, 12.1% retained their family physicians post-LTC admission. Resident factors associated with reduced odds of retention included physical impairment [odds ratio OR (95% confidence interval, CI) = 0.59 (0.42.0.83)], cognitive impairment [0.39 (0.33.0.47)], and a dementia diagnosis [0.80 (0.74.0.86)]. Physician factors associated with lower retention included a greater distance fromthe LTC hometothe familyphysician’s clinic [30thornkilometers 0.41 (0.35.0.48)], having aphysicianwhois female [0.90 (0.83.0.98)], an internationalmedical graduate [0.89 (0.81.0.97)] or someone who practices in a capitationbased Family Health Organization [0.86 (0.78.0.95)]. Factors associated with greater odds of retentionwere residing in a rural LTC home [2.23 (1.78.2.79)], having a rural family physician [1.70 (1.52.1.90)], or a family physician who has billed LTC fee codes in the past year [2.64 (2.45.2.85)]. Few LTC residents retained their family physician post-LTC admission, underscoring this healthcare transition as a breakdown point in relational continuity.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Factors that influenced retention included resident health, LTC home geography, and family physician demographics and practice patterns.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Do Patients Retain Their Family Physicians After Long-term Care Entry? a Retrospective Cohort Study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2020;21(12):1951-1957. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association can be contacted at: Elsevier, Ste 800, 230 Park Ave, New York, NY 10169, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-medical-directors-association/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Peter Tanuseputro, Ottawa Hospital, Research Institute, Ottawa, On, Canada. Additional authors for this research include Emiliyan Staykov, Danial Qureshi, Mary Scott, Robert Talarico, Amy T. Hsu, Michael Ip, Clare Liddy, Michelle Howard, Andrew P. Costa and Celeste Fung.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2020.04.016. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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