How far to the nearest physician? - ARCHIVED

Meeting the need for physician care outside of urban centres has long been a health policy concern. The challenges of providing such services in these areas stem from relatively fewer physicians and greater travel distances. In 1993, nearly all (99%) residents of large urban centres (with one million or more people) were less than 5 km from the nearest doctor. But outside of urban centres, only 56% of residents were situated that close to a physician. As well, proximity to physicians varied with income in less urbanized and rural areas, but not in more urbanized areas. And while Canadians in the southernmost parts of the country enjoyed very short distances to a physician, in northern latitudes, physicians tended to be much farther away. For instance, in 1993, at 65-69o north latitude, with 3,974 people for every physician, nearly two-thirds of the population (64%) was 100 km or more from the nearest doctor. By contrast, below 45o north latitude, which includes Halifax, Toronto and all of southwestern Ontario, the population to physician ratio was 476, and 91% of the population was within 5 km of a physician. Using the Canadian Medical Association's 1993 address registry of physicians, this article analyses the distance to the nearest physician (57,291 physicians) from a representative point within each of Canada's 45,995 census Enumeration Areas. Distance to the nearest physician by their specialty is also considered.