Dataset Information

Physician-based availability of psychotherapy in Ontario: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Psychotherapy is recommended as a first-line treatment for the management of common psychiatric disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the availability of publicly funded psychotherapy provided by physicians in Ontario by describing primary care physicians (PCPs) and psychiatrists whose practices focus on psychotherapy and comparing them to PCPs and psychiatrists whose practices do not.

Methods

This was a population-based retrospective cohort study. We included all PCPs and psychiatrists in Ontario who submitted at least 1 billing claim to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan between Apr. 1, 2015, and Mar. 31, 2016, and categorized them as psychotherapists if at least 50% of their outpatient billings were related to the provision of psychotherapy. We measured practice characteristics such as total number of patients and new patients, and average visit frequency for 4 physician categories: PCP nonpsychotherapists, PCP psychotherapists, psychiatrist nonpsychotherapists and psychiatrist psychotherapists. We also measured access to care for people with urgent need for mental health services.

Results

Of 12 772 PCPs, 404 (3.2%) were PCP psychotherapists; of 2150 psychiatrists, 586 (27.3%) were psychotherapists. Primary care physician nonpsychotherapists had the highest number of patients and number of new patients, followed by psychiatrist nonpsychotherapists, PCP psychotherapists and psychiatrist psychotherapists. Primary care physician nonpsychotherapists had the lowest average annual number of visits per patient, whereas both types of psychotherapists had a much greater number of visits per patient. Primary care physician and psychiatrist nonpsychotherapists saw about 25% of patients with urgent needs for mental health services, whereas PCP and psychiatrist psychotherapists saw 1%-3% of these patients.

Interpretation

Physicians who provide publicly funded psychotherapy in Ontario see a small number of patients, and they see few of those with urgent need for mental health services. Our findings suggest that improving access to psychotherapy will require the development of alternative strategies.

SUBMITTER: Kurdyak P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7065559 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan-Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Physician-based availability of psychotherapy in Ontario: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Kurdyak Paul P Zaheer Juveria J Carvalho André A de Oliveira Claire C Lebenbaum Michael M Wilton Andrew S AS Fefergrad Mark M Stergiopoulos Vicky V Mulsant Benoit H BH

CMAJ open 20200101 1

<h4>Background</h4>Psychotherapy is recommended as a first-line treatment for the management of common psychiatric disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the availability of publicly funded psychotherapy provided by physicians in Ontario by describing primary care physicians (PCPs) and psychiatrists whose practices focus on psychotherapy and comparing them to PCPs and psychiatrists whose practices do not.<h4>Methods</h4>This was a population-based retrospective cohort study. We i ...[more]

PMID: 32161044

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Risk factors for cause-specific mortality have not been widely studied among people with HIV infection. Our objectives were to estimate rates of and risk factors for all-cause and cause-specific mortality from 1995 to 2014 among HIV-infected people in Ontario. METHODS:We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using provincial health databases of people with HIV infection who were aged 16 years or more, were residents of Ontario between 1995 and 2014, and had HIV infection according to a previously validated algorithm. We used International Classification of Diseases codes to classify the underlying cause of death and estimated age-adjusted mortality rates per 100 person-years for 1995 to 2014. We used descriptive statistics to characterize the cohort at baseline and calculated adjusted mortality rate ratios (RRs) using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS:Among 23 043 people, the all-cause mortality rate declined from 6.69 to 1.53 per 100 person-years over the study period, and the rate of death from HIV/AIDS declined from 4.75 to 0.46 per 100 person-years. Concomitantly, the proportions of deaths due to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other noncommunicable diseases rose; however, rates remained constant or declined. Compared to males, females had higher mortality due to cardiovascular disease (adjusted RR 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.77), noncommunicable causes (adjusted RR 1.75, 95% CI 1.39-2.20) and, by 2010-2014, any cause (adjusted RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.02-1.38). Residing in a low-income neighbourhood was associated with increased risk for most causes, including HIV/AIDS (adjusted RR in 2010-2014 1.86, 95% CI 1.49-2.31). Rural residence was associated with increased mortality due to malignant disease (adjusted RR 1.60, 95% CI 1.10-2.34) and noncommunicable disease (adjusted RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.25-2.77). Being an immigrant was associated with lower risk of death from all causes. INTERPRETATION:Over the study period, death was increasingly due to common chronic conditions rather than to HIV infection itself. Care should incorporate the prevention and management of these conditions, especially among females and those residing in rural and low-income areas.

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Dataset Information

Physician-based availability of psychotherapy in Ontario: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Background

Methods

Results

Interpretation

Publications

Physician-based availability of psychotherapy in Ontario: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

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