DISTRIBUTION OF PHYSICIANS IN ONTARIO - WHERE ARE THERE TOO FEW OR TOO MANY FAMILY PHYSICIANS AND GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS

OBJECTIVE To assess the regional distribution of family physicians and general practitioners in Ontario after adjusting for practice intensi ty and the population's patterns of health care use. DESIGN Analysis o f administrative data. SETTING Ontario. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Intensit y of patient use of GP services, GP practice density, and physician de nsity for each Ontario county (measured as the ratio of practice-inten sity equivalent GPs to use-intensity equivalent inhabitants). RESULTS Despite adjustment for practice intensity and use patterns, wide varia tions exist in GP densities. chi(2) tests identified counties that con sistently reported GP densities significantly different (P < 0.001) fr om the provincial average. Four of the five counties with health scien ce teaching centres had densities significantly higher than the provin cial average, while 10 other counties had significantly lower densitie s. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study provide useful information for ph ysician resource planning and might inform debate concerning proposals to restrict physician billing numbers and practice locations to recti fy perceived maldistribution of physicians.