Family physicians by certification. Canada, 2007

The following questionnaire was presented to and completed by family physicians in Canada in 2007. Please review the questionnaire and use your cursor to click on those questions for which you wish to view results. 

Search by Topic About You Your Work Setting(s) Your Patient Care Setting(s) Patient Access to Care Your Practice/ Work Profile Allocation of your time Your Professional Income Changes to your practice Your use of Information Technology Your Professional Satisfaction

A. About You

1.  Please check ALL that apply to your current situation.
؎ I am in full-time or part-time medical practice.
؎ I am semi-retired.
؎ I am a locum tenens. (If you do not have a permanent practice, complete in relation to last practice you served/are currently serving).
؎ I am employed in a medical or medically related field. Please check ALL that apply.
؎ Administration                                  ؎ Teaching                           ؎ Research
؎ I am on a leave of absence or sabbatical from active patient care. (Complete the questionnaire in relation to your most recent medical practice).
؎ I have a faculty appointment.
؎ I have a formal hospital appointment.

2.  If you fall into any of the following categories, please check the appropriate category and return this Uncompleted questionnaire in the enclosed stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
؎ I am a medical student                  ؎ I am a resident                 ؎ I am completely retired  

3.  Which of these best describes you? Please check only ONE. 
؎ Family physician/general practitioner. 
؎ Family physician/general practitioner with a special focus to my practice.  Please specify: ___________________
؎ Medical/surgical/laboratory specialist. Please specify: ________________________________________________
؎ Physician working exclusively in a non-clinical setting. Please specify: ___________________________________
؎ Other. Please specify: _________________________________________________________________________

4. Your year of birth:         19

_

_

5.   Sex:              male  ؎        female  ؎

6. Marital status:
؎Married/living with partner    ؎Single           ؎Separated     ؎ Divorced      ؎ Widowed
            Please specify the profession of your spouse/partner: __________________________

7.a) Do you have children?      ؎ No      ؎ Yes - Age of the youngest? ______ years

8. In which province(s) or territories did you grow up prior to going to university? 
Check ALL that apply.
BC      AB      SK     MB     ON      QC      NB      NS      PE      NL     NT    YT     NU      Outside of
                                                                                                                                     Canada

9.a) Year of your undergraduate medical graduation: ؎؎؎؎
Year of completion of your most recent post-graduate medical training (i.e. residency/internship): ؎؎؎؎

9.b)  Please indicate where you completed your medical training. UG = Undergraduate medical graduation,
PG = Most recent post-graduate medical training (i.e. residency/internship). Please check only ONE per category. 

Location	UG	PG	Location	UG	PG	Location	UG	PG
UBC			McMaster			McGill
UofCalgary			UofT			Université Laval
UofAB			UofOttawa			Dalhousie
UofSK			Queen’s			MUN
UofMB			UdeSherbrooke			U.S.A.
UWO			UdeMontréal			Other	Specify country ____________	Specify country _____________

10.  Please check ALL that apply to you.
؎ Current member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and hold the following designation(s):
                     ؎ CCFP                ؎ CCFP(EM)                         ؎ FCFP                  ؎ MCFP                
؎ Specialty certification with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).
Specify specialty(ies): _______________________________________________________________________
؎ Specialty certification/attestation with the Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ).
Specify specialty(ies)/attestation(s): _____________________________________________________________
؎ Other medical designation(s). Please specify: _____________________________________________________
؎ Other degree(s). Please specify: _______________________________________________________________
؎ None of the above

11.  In what year did you become licensed to practice medicine in Canada for the first time? ؎؎؎؎

12.a) Using the scale provided, please rate the availability AND effectiveness of each of the continuing professional education methods listed below in maintaining/enhancing your knowledge, skills or competencies for your professional practice.
0=not at all available/effective, 1=Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Good, 4=Very good, 5=Excellent, DU = Don’t use

	AVAILABILITY							EFFECTIVENESS
	0	1	2	3	4	5	DU	0	1	2	3	4	5	DU
Accredited conferences/courses
Unaccredited educational dinners/lunches sponsored by pharmaceutical companies
Peer-reviewed journals
Non-peer-reviewed medical publications
Evidence-based resources (e.g., clinical practice guidelines, data repositories)
On-line education courses
Rounds, journal clubs, small group activities
Self assessment programs (e.g. Multiple Choice Questions, practice portfolios, CME logs, multi-source feedback)
Performance practice audits
Self directed learning methods (e.g. Self Learning, Practice-based Small Group Learning)
Simulators
Other, specify: ________________________________

12.b) Do you personally provide continuing professional development (CPD) courses/programs?
؎ No                       ؎ Yes, If yes, please specify to which type of audience: Please check ALL that apply.
؎ Physicians in your specialty/area of practice;
؎ Physicians not in your specialty/area of practice;
؎ Other health professionals.

B. Your Work Setting(s)

13.a)       The following is a list of work settings.  Check the category(ies) which best describe(s) the setting(s) where you work.  Please check ALL that apply.
A       ؎ Private office/clinic (excluding free standing walk-in clinics)        G  ؎ Nursing home/Home for the aged
B       ؎ Community clinic/Community health centre                                     H  ؎ University/Faculty of medicine
C       ؎ Free-standing walk-in clinic                                                            I  ؎ Administrative office
D       ؎ Academic health sciences centre (ahsc)                                      J  ؎ Research unit
E       ؎ Community hospital                                                                         K ؎ Free-standing lab/diagnostic clinic
F        ؎ Emergency department (in community hospital or ahsc)               L ؎ Other _________________________

13.b)  Please indicate which of the above settings is your MAIN patient care setting (i.e. the setting where
        you spend the most time providing patient care). Following the categories provided above, please check              
        ONLY ONE of the letters below.  (If you do not provide patient care, please check ‘Not applicable’).
      A       B           C          D         E             F          G          H          I            J            K      L                 Not applicable

14.   In which province(s)/territory(ies) do you currently work?  Check ALL that apply.
BC      AB      SK     MB     ON      QC      NB      NS      PE      NL     NT     YT     NU      Outside of Canada

15.  Please provide the 6-digit postal code of your MAIN patient care setting OR main work setting if you do not provide patient care:____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

16.  Indicate the main reason(s) you selected your current work location. Check ALL that apply.
؎ Availability of medical support system/resources                      ؎ Practice opportunity was available
؎ Career opportunities for spouse/partner                                     ؎ Had to fulfill a return of service obligation
؎ Family reasons                                                                            ؎ Religious/social/cultural reasons
؎ Liked the location                                                                          ؎ Financial recruitment/retention incentives
؎ Opportunity for affiliation with a university                                  ؎ Non-financial recruitment/retention incentives
؎ Community needs were a good match to my career interests   ؎ Other _____________________________________

C. Your Patient Care Setting(s)

17. Do you provide patient care?  ؎ Yes       ؎ No (If no, skip to question 31)

18. With respect to your MAIN patient care setting specified in 13.b, describe the population PRIMARILY served by you in your practice. Please check ONLY ONE. 
؎ Inner city                                          ؎ Rural                                                                  ؎ Other _______________
؎ Urban/Suburban                              ؎ Geographically isolated/Remote                
؎ Small town                                       ؎ Cannot identify a primary population          

19.  Please indicate how your MAIN patient care setting is organized.  Please check ONLY ONE.
Note that a solo or group practice could also include a nurse who does not have her/his own caseload.
؎ Solo practice                          
؎ Group practice (physicians only)       
؎ Interprofessional practice (physician(s) and other health professional(s) who have their own caseloads)

20. Please indicate with whom you regularly collaborate in providing patient care and whether your collaboration is part of a formal arrangement.  Check ALL that apply

	I regularly collaborate with the following in providing patient care	I have a formal arrangement for collaborating with the following	I do not collaborate with the following
Family physicians	؎	؎	؎
Psychiatric specialists	؎	؎	؎
Pediatric specialists	؎	؎	؎
Obstetrical/gynecological specialists	؎	؎	؎
Internal specialists	؎	؎	؎
Surgical specialists	؎	؎	؎
Other specialists  _____________________	؎	؎	؎
Nurse practitioners	؎	؎	؎
Psychiatric nurses	؎	؎	؎
Other nurses (RN, LPN, RPN)	؎	؎	؎
Physician assistants	؎	؎	؎
Dietitians/nutritionists	؎	؎	؎
Occupational therapists	؎	؎	؎
Physiotherapists	؎	؎	؎
Chiropractors	؎	؎	؎
Psychologists	؎	؎	؎
Mental health counselors	؎	؎	؎
Addiction counselors	؎	؎	؎
Social workers	؎	؎	؎
Pharmacists	؎	؎	؎
Midwives	؎	؎	؎
Speech-language pathologists	؎	؎	؎
Chiropodists	؎	؎	؎
Complementary/alternative medicine providers (e.g., acupuncturists, homeopaths)	؎	؎	؎

21.  When collaborating with other professionals to provide patient care, do you: Check ALL that apply
Consult by telephone?                                                                                            ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Discuss patients/clinical issues electronically (email, list serve, internet)?           ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Meet together to review patients/clinical problems?                                             ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Provide a consultation/opinion without seeing the patient in person?                  ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Share patient care decisions?                                                                               ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Discuss new evidence and its applicability to your patients?                              ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Review adverse events/critical incidents together?                                             ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Participate in joint educational activities?                                                               ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Feel this working relationship improves the care your patients receive?               ؎ Yes     ؎ No
Feel this working relationship enhances the care you can deliver?                       ؎ Yes     ؎ No

22. What languages do you speak with your patients?  ؎  English       ؎  French    ؎  Other(s) __________

D. Patient Access to Care

23.a) Typically, if a patient contacts your office or is referred to you, how long would that patient wait until the first available appointment with you or your practice?
                 Urgent:  ؎ Same day                                                   Non-urgent:   ؎ Same week
                                ؎ Days _____  (#)                                                              ؎ Weeks _____  (#)   
                                ؎ Unsure                                                                             ؎ Unsure
                                ؎ Not applicable                                                                   ؎ Not applicable              

23.b) To what extent is your practice accepting new patients into your MAIN patient care setting?  Please check only ONE.
؎ No restrictions; practice is open to all new patients
؎ Partially closed.  Please estimate the number of new patients you accepted into your practice in the last 12 months: ___#.
؎ Completely closed                            
؎ Does not apply to my practice setting 

24. What do you see as major impediments to your delivery of care to your patients? Check ALL that apply.
؎ System funding                             ؎ Availability of relevant patient information at the point of care
؎ Payment mechanisms                   ؎ Computer and communications technology that are not compatible with your needs
؎ Paperwork                                    ؎ Lack of evidence-based clinical information
؎ Bureaucracy                                 ؎ Lack of appropriate facilities to care for complex/elderly/failing patients
؎ Availability of personnel                 Poor inter-personal communications with:
؎ External demands on your time          ؎ family physicians          ؎ other specialists     ؎ other allied health professions
؎ Availability of test results                                ؎ Other _______________________

25.a)  Please rate the accessibility to the following for your patients.

	Excellent	Very Good	Good	Fair	Poor	Don’t Know
Other specialist physicians in general	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Obstetricians/Gynecologists	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Pediatricians/Pediatric specialists	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Orthopedic Surgeons	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Ophthalmologists	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Psychiatrists	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Psychosocial support services (e.g. psychologists, social workers, etc.)	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Mental health counselor services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Addiction counselor services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Cancer care services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Cardiac care services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Palliative care services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Operating room (OR) time	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Anesthesia services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Emergency room/department services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
In-home nursing services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Critical care beds	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Long-term care beds (e.g. nursing home, chronic care, etc.)	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Hospital in-patient care on an urgent basis	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Hospital care for elective procedures	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Routine diagnostic services (e.g. lab, x-rays, etc.)	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Advanced diagnostic services (e.g. MRI, CT, etc.)	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Drugs and appliances	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Homecare	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Occupational therapy services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Physiotherapy services	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎

25.b) Please indicate if there are other important access issues for your patients _________________

26. The following statements address the role of alternative/complementary medicine in health services. Please check the category that best describes your opinion for each of the following: 

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Alternative/complementary medicine includes ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Treatments not tested in a scientifically recognized manner should be discouraged	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Alternative/complementary medicine is a threat to public health	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎

27. What arrangements do you have for care of your patients in your MAIN patient care setting outside of your usual office hours?
؎ No arrangements/direction provided
؎ Arrangements/direction provided.  Check ALL that apply.
          ؎ Extended office hours regularly (beyond Monday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM).
If so, number of extended hours per week: ____________hrs/week     
          ؎ After-hours clinic that is staffed by you or other providers in your practice.               
          ؎ Individualized 24/7 medical telephone advice where provider has access to patient medical records.
؎ Individualized 24/7 medical telephone advice where provider does not have access to patient medical records.
          ؎ Directed to call regional/provincial/territorial 24/7 telehealth or telephone advice line
          ؎ Directed to call a housecall service
          ؎ Directed to go to a walk-in clinic/after-hours clinic that you do not staff
          ؎ Directed to go to the emergency department
          ؎ Other ___________________________________________________

E. Your Practice/Work Profile

28.a) Please indicate if care for the following patient populations is provided by yourself and/or others in your practice. Please check ALL that apply.

	I provide health care for these patients	Other providers within our practice provide health care for these patients	This patient population represents more than 10% of our practice population
Neonates (<1 month)	؎	؎	؎
Infants (1-12 months)	؎	؎	؎
Children (1-11 years)	؎	؎	؎
Adolescents (12-19 years)	؎	؎	؎
Women	؎	؎	؎
Pregnant women	؎	؎	؎
Men	؎	؎	؎
Seniors (65+ years)	؎	؎	؎
Aboriginal peoples	؎	؎	؎
Ethnic minorities	؎	؎	؎
Recent immigrants	؎	؎	؎
People living in poverty	؎	؎	؎
Homeless/ “street” people	؎	؎	؎
Transient/seasonal populations	؎	؎	؎
Patients with respiratory problems	؎	؎	؎
Patients with hypertension	؎	؎	؎
Patients with diabetes	؎	؎	؎
Patients with heart disease/conditions	؎	؎	؎
Patients with chronic mental illness	؎	؎	؎
Patients with obesity	؎	؎	؎
Patients with cancer	؎	؎	؎
Patients with HIV/AIDS	؎	؎	؎
Patients with addictions	؎	؎	؎
Patients with permanent physical disabilities	؎	؎	؎
Other, specify: _____________________	؎	؎	؎

28.b) Please indicate if the following are offered to your patients by yourself and/or others in your practice. Check ALL that apply. 

	I offer this to my patients	Others within our practice offer this to our patients
Non-urgent health care	؎	؎
Acute health care	؎	؎
Emergency medicine	؎	؎
Alternative/complementary medicine	؎	؎
Anesthesia	؎	؎
Community medicine/public health services/health promotion	؎	؎
Cosmetic medicine	؎	؎
Dermatology	؎	؎
Gynecology	؎	؎
Liaison to Homecare	؎	؎
Hospitalist care (most responsible physician for patients in hospital to whom you do not provide care post hospital discharge)	؎	؎
Housecalls	؎	؎
Infectious disease care	؎	؎
In-patient hospital care	؎	؎
Intrapartum care (If yes, number of births attended per year _______)	؎	؎
Legal/medico-legal consultations	؎	؎
Mental health care	؎	؎
Nutritional counseling	؎	؎
Occupational/industrial medicine	؎	؎
Pain management	؎	؎
Palliative care	؎	؎
Psychotherapy/counseling	؎	؎
Rehabilitation medicine	؎	؎
Sports medicine	؎	؎
Substance abuse care	؎	؎
Surgery	؎	؎
Surgical assisting	؎	؎
Travel/tropical medicine	؎	؎
Well child care	؎	؎
Other, specify: ____________________________________	؎	؎

28.c) Does your medical practice have (a) specific area(s) of focus (i.e. patient population, academic or administrative activity, subspecialty, etc.)?  ؎ No   ؎ Yes - If yes, please specify and indicate the percentage of time you spend.
Area(s) of focus                                                                                                  Percent of time (%)
_________________________________________________                              ________________
_________________________________________________                              ________________

28.d) Which of the following procedures do you perform as part of your practice?     Please check ALL that apply.
؎ Incise & drain abscess                                                                 ؎ Place transurethral catheter
؎ Insert sutures/repair lacerations                                                  ؎ Cryotherapy or chemical therapy for genital warts
؎ Cast fractures                                                                              ؎ Pap smear                                       
؎ Cryotherapy of skin lesions                                                          ؎ Low forcep       
؎ Excise dermal lesions                                                                   ؎ Mid-forcep and rotation
؎ Scrape skin for fungus determination                                          ؎ Vacuum extraction
؎ Use Wood’s lamp                                                                           ؎ Splint injured extremities                              
؎ Release subungual hematoma                                                      ؎ Bag and mask ventilation
؎ Drain acute paronychia                                                                  ؎ Venipuncture   
؎ Pare skin callus                                                                               ؎ Subcutaneous injection                
؎ Infiltrate local anesthetic                                                                  ؎ Intramuscular injection
؎ Remove corneal or conjunctival foreign body                                ؎ Insert peripheral intravenous line in both adult and child
؎ Remove cerumen/syringe ear canals                                             ؎ Insert central line in adult
؎ Cauterize nose for anterior epistaxis                                              ؎ Prep for land or air transport
؎ Remove foreign body (e.g. fish-hook, splinter, glass)                   ؎ Acupuncture
؎ Insert nasogastric tube                                                                  ؎ Hypnosis
؎ Test for fecal occult blood                                                              ؎ NONE OF THE ABOVE

28.e) Please list any procedural skills that you feel you need to acquire. ______________________

29. Please estimate the number of patient visits you have in a TYPICAL WEEK, EXCLUDING patient visits while on-call (on-call is defined as time outside of regularly scheduled activity during which you are available to patients):  
        Number of patient visits per week _______

F. Allocation of your time

”ON-CALL” = time outside of regularly scheduled activity during which you are available to patients

30.a) Do you do on-call?   ؎  No  (Skip to 31)              
؎  Yes – If yes, describe your on-call activity. Check ALL that apply.
؎ Obstetrical on-call
؎ On-call for hospital in-patients           
؎ On-call for non-hospitalized patients - telephone availability only
؎ On-call for non-hospitalized patients - telephone availability and see patients as required
؎ Emergency room on-call
؎ Nursing home/ LTC facility on-call
؎Other ________________________

30.b) Please estimate your average total number of on-call work hours PER MONTH: ______ hours/month

30.c) Please estimate how many of your on-call hours each month are actually spent in direct patient care (e.g. phone, email, face-to-face):________ hours/month
Do you ever spend continuous 24-hour periods of on-call time in direct patient care? ؎ No   ؎ Yes  If yes,  are you ever required to provide direct patient care immediately after these 24-hour periods?  ؎ No   ؎ Yes

30.d) Please estimate the number of patients you see on-call per month: _______________ patients/month

31. EXCLUDING ON-CALL ACTIVITIES, how many HOURS IN AN AVERAGE WEEK do you usually spend on the following activities? Assume each activity is mutually exclusive for reporting purposes, i.e. if an activity spans two categories, please report hours in only one category.

i)     Direct patient care without a teaching component, regardless of setting	_____	hours/week
ii)    Direct patient care with a teaching component, regardless of setting	_____	hours/week
iii)   Teaching/Education without direct patient care (contact with students/residents,         preparation, marking, evaluations, etc.)	_____	hours/week
iv)   Indirect patient care (charting, reports, phone calls, meeting patients’ family, etc.)	_____	hours/week
v)    Health facility committees	_____	hours/week
vi)   Managing your practice (staff, facility, equipment, etc.)	_____	hours/week
vii)  Research (including management of research and publications)	_____	hours/week
viii) Administration (i.e. management of university program, chief of staff, department head,         Ministry of Health, etc.)	_____	hours/week
ix)    Continuing medical education/professional development (courses, reading, videos,          tapes, seminars, etc.)	_____	hours/week
x)     Other (participation in professional or specialty organizations, medico-legal activities,          etc.)	_____	hours/week
SUM of 31.i through 31.x                                 TOTAL HOURS WORKED PER WEEK	_____	hours / week

32. In the LAST YEAR, have you:
32.a) Been absent from work due to:
i) Maternity or paternity leave? ؎ No    ؎ Yes - If yes, approximate number of weeks absent: ______
ii) Personal leave of absence?  ؎ No    ؎ Yes - If yes, approximate number of weeks absent: ______
iii) Illness or disability?  ؎ No    ؎ Yes – If yes, approximate number of days absent due to work related stress: ____
                                                               Approximate number of days absent due to any other illness/disability: ____

32.b) Volunteered your services as a physician (e.g. camp doctor, international aid, etc.)?  ؎ Yes    ؎ No
            If yes, approximately how many weeks in the past year have been spent volunteering:  _____ (number of weeks)

                  Please specify area(s) of volunteerism: ____________________________

32.c) Used any locum tenens?  ؎ Yes    ؎ No, locum not available            ؎ No, locum not needed

32.d) Personally provided locum tenens services for another physician? ؎ Yes    ؎ No (Skip to question 32)
  If yes, i) Approximately how many weeks in the past year:  _____ (number of weeks)
             ii) What patient population(s) did you serve? (Please check ALL that apply)
          ؎ Inner city                                  ؎ Rural                                                                  ؎ Other___________
          ؎ Urban/Suburban                    ؎ Geographically isolated/Remote                
          ؎ Small town                              ؎ Cannot identify a primary population
           iii) Do you have a permanent practice in addition to doing locum work?  ؎ Yes    ؎ No
           iv) Why do you choose to locum? Check ALL that apply.
A ؎ Financial reasons       B ؎ To assess potential future practice location     C ؎ Clinical variety
D ؎ Filling a service need  E ؎ Flexibility/ability to set own schedule                F ؎ Other, specify _________________
           v) Following the reasons provided above, please check the ONE most important reason why you choose to locum.  
                A                              B                             C                             D                             E                             F            

G. Your Professional Income

33.a)   In the last year, approximately what proportion of your professional income did you receive from each of the following payment methods?   Please note: TOTAL MUST EQUAL 100%

33.b) If you had a choice, how would you prefer to be paid for your services as a physician?
         Please check ONLY ONE.

؎	Fee-for-service only
؎	Salary only
؎	Capitation only
؎	Sessional/ per diem/ hourly payments only
؎	Service contract only
؎	Blended payment

IF YOU INDICATED BLENDED, what components would you want included?  Check ALL that apply.

؎	Fee-for-service (FFS)
؎	Salary
؎	Capitation
؎	Sessional/ per diem/ hourly payments
؎	Service contract
؎	Benefits/ pension
؎	On-call remuneration beyond FFS
؎	Other _______________________
؎	Unsure

 

 

 

 

 

33.c) During the past 12 months, approximately what percentage of your professional income was from the following sources? Total must equal 100%.

Provincial/territorial government medical/health care plans and programs	_____%
Regional Health Authorities/Boards	_____%
Academic health science centres/universities	_____%
Community hospitals	_____%
Workers’ Compensation Board/Workplace Safety and Insurance Board	_____%
Private insurance companies and third parties (e.g. legal fees for clinical consults/notes/testimony)	_____%
Direct federal health programs (e.g. CPP, DVA, RCMP, etc.)	_____%
Direct payment from patients	_____%
Professional and/or health care organizations (e.g. honoraria)	_____%
Industry funding (e.g. full salary, research fees, consulting, honoraria, etc.)	_____%
Research grants (non-industry)	_____%
Other, specify: _____________________________________________________	_____%
	Total 100%

 

H. Changes to your practice

34. Are the following factors increasing the demand for your time?
                                                                                                                        Yes       No
Aging patient population                                                                                    ؎        ؎
Increasing complexity of patient caseload                                                        ؎        ؎
Management of patients with chronic diseases/conditions                              ؎        ؎
Increasing patient expectations                                                                         ؎        ؎
Lack of availability of local/regional physician services in my specialty            ؎        ؎
Lack of availability of local/regional physician services in other specialties      ؎        ؎
Lack of availability of other local/regional health care professional services    ؎        ؎
Other, specify: ____________________________________________            ؎        ؎

35.    With reference to the LAST TWO YEARS, please check all of the following changes you have already made.   With reference to the NEXT TWO YEARS, please check all of the following changes that you are planning to make.

	Changes made in the last 2 years	Changes planned in the next 2 years
Reduce weekly work hours (excluding on call)	؎	؎
Increase weekly work hours(excluding on call)	؎	؎
Retire from clinical practice	؎	؎
Relocate my practice to another province/territory in Canada	؎	؎
Leave Canada to practise in another country	؎	؎
Focus practice in an area of special interest	؎	؎
Reduce scope of practice	؎	؎
Stop intrapartum practice	؎	؎
Reduce clinical hours (excluding on call)	؎	؎
Increase clinical hours (excluding on call)	؎	؎
Reduce teaching	؎	؎
Increase teaching	؎	؎
Reduce Research	؎	؎
Increase Research	؎	؎
Reduce administration responsibilities	؎	؎
Increase administration responsibilities	؎	؎
Reduce on-call hours	؎	؎
Increase on-call hours	؎	؎
Change practice due to personal health	؎	؎
Temporarily leave active practice for reason(s) other than above	؎	؎
Permanently leave active practice for reason(s) other than above	؎	؎
Change from solo to group practice	؎	؎
Become part of a practice network	؎	؎
Other change(s) MADE, specify: _______________	؎
Other change(s) PLANNED, specify: ________		؎
NO CHANGES	؎	؎

I. Your Use of Information Technology

36. How would you rate your skill level with computers?
؎ Not proficient/don’t use computers       ؎ Beginner/basic       ؎ Intermediate       ؎ Advanced

37.a) What type of access do you have to the Internet in your MAIN patient care setting?
؎ None
؎ Dial-up
؎ High-speed (cable, DSL)
؎ Don’t know what type
؎ Not applicable – I do not provide patient care

                If you do not have Internet access in your Main patient care setting, why not? Please check all that apply.
               ؎ No high-speed access
               ؎ Can’t afford it
               ؎ Don’t want it
               ؎ Don’t need it
               ؎ Other, specify: _____________________________________

37.b) What type of access do you have to the Internet in other settings, for example at home?
؎ None        ؎ Dial-up        ؎ High-speed (cable, DSL)     ؎ Don’t know what type

38. Do you use email in any setting to communicate with:
Your colleagues:                                Your patients:                              ؎ Others
 ؎ for clinical purposes                     ؎ for clinical purposes                  ؎ Not applicable – I do not use email
 ؎ for other purposes                       ؎ for other purposes

39. Thinking about your MAIN patient setting, which of these describes your record keeping system?  Please check ONLY ONE.
؎ I use paper charts
؎ I use a combination of paper and electronic charts to enter and retrieve patient clinical notes
؎ I use electronic records (e.g., electronic medical record) instead of paper charts to enter/retrieve patient clinical notes
؎ Not applicable – I do not provide patient care

40.a)  Please indicate which of the following you have, whether you use it in the care of your patients, and whether it is on a wireless device.  Check ALL that apply.

	Have it	Use it	Use it on a wireless device
Electronic patient appointment/scheduling system	؎	؎	؎
Electronic billing	؎	؎	؎
Electronic records to enter and retrieve clinical patient notes	؎	؎	؎
Electronic reminder systems for recommended patient care	؎	؎	؎
Electronic warning systems for adverse prescribing and/or drug interactions	؎	؎	؎
Electronic decision aids (i.e. to evaluate treatment options)	؎	؎	؎
Electronic interface to external pharmacy/pharmacist	؎	؎	؎
Electronic interface to external laboratory/diagnostic imaging	؎	؎	؎
Electronic interface to other external systems (e.g. hospitals, other clinics) for accessing or sharing patient information	؎	؎	؎
Electronic interface to external chronic care patient registries	؎	؎	؎
Telemedicine/webcasting/videoconferencing	؎	؎	؎
Online access to journals, clinical practice guidelines, medical databases (e.g. MEDLINE)	؎	؎	؎
Email	؎	؎	؎
I DO NOT HAVE/USE ANY OF THE ABOVE      ؎

40.b) Do you have a practice website?     ؎ Yes         ؎ No

J. Your Professional Satisfaction

41.  Please rate your satisfaction with each of the following:

	Very satisfied	Somewhat satisfied	Neutral	Somewhat dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied	Not applicable
Your current professional life	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
The balance between your personal and professional commitments	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your relationship with your patients	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your relationship with family physicians	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your relationship with physicians in other specialties	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your relationship with hospitals	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your relationship with pharmacists	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
The usefulness and reliability of the consultations you receive from other specialists – i.e. not family physicians	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your opportunity to use your skills to their full extent	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
The availability of CME/CPD opportunities to meet your needs	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your ability to find locum tenens coverage for CME/CPD, holidays, personal time	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your comparative net revenue per hour compared to other family physicians	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎
Your comparative net revenue per hour compared to other specialties – i.e. not family physicians	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎	؎

42. The ability to track a cohort of individuals over time would provide invaluable research information for health human resource planning.  Would you be willing to allow these responses to be linked to your responses on future National Physician Surveys?  (Accomplished by assigning you the same tracking ID# on each survey). Results from this cohort data would only be reported in aggregate form, never at the individual level.

؎ Yes, I am willing to be part of the National Physician Survey cohort.

Comments: ________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and participation