Canadian Views On Collaborative Health Care

Ottawa, ON - Ipsos Reid, on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, recently asked Canadians several questions about collaborative health care teams that would bring together health care professionals like doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical specialists in an effort to improve access to health care providers. This research finds that three in four Canadians (73%) would only sign their family up for a collaborative health care team if that team was led by a physician, while just fewer than one in four Canadians (23%) would sign their family up for a collaborative health care team if it was led by a health care provider other than a family physician.

Most Say That One Health Care Professional Should Lead Collaborative Health Care Tteams...

This result is consistent with the finding that nearly nine in ten Canadians agree that a collaborative health care team requires a leader who is ultimately responsible for care and defines clear roles and responsibilities for all other team members (52% strongly agree, 36% somewhat agree).

Among Qualified Professionals, Physicians Are Widely Viewed As The Most Qualified Professionals To Lead A Collaborative Health Care Team...

When asked how qualified various health care professionals are to lead a collaborative health care team, nearly all respondents (99%) say a physician is qualified to lead a collaborative health care team, including nearly three in four who say a physician would be very qualified (73%) to do so. Substantial majorities also view registered nurses (27% very qualified, 53% somewhat qualified), nurse practitioners (23% very qualified, 48% somewhat qualified) and pharmacists (23% very qualified, 48% somewhat qualified) as qualified to lead a collaborative health care team, although these professionals are less often seen to be very qualified to do so.

When asked to choose which among these health care professionals is most qualified to be a collaborative health care team leader, Canadians choose a physician (76%) as the most qualified professional. A nurse practitioner (9%), registered nurse (9%) and pharmacist (5%) are less often selected as the most qualified professionals.

Most View A Strong, Personal Relationship With Their Doctor As Critical To Their Health Care And Do Not Expect To Lose This Relationship In A Collaborative Care Environment...

Over four in five agree that having a physician they know and trust is critical to their health care (78% strongly agree, 16% somewhat agree). Three in five disagree that they are worried they would receive less attention from their doctor if he or she were part of a collaborative health care team (26% strongly disagree, 36% somewhat disagree); however, one in three do think they would receive less attention from their doctor in a collaborative care scenario (11% strongly agree, 25% somewhat agree). Similarly, a majority disagree that they are concerned it would be harder to have a personal relationship with their physician in a collaborative care environment (23% strongly disagree, 33% somewhat disagree), while four in ten do believe a personal relationship with their doctor would be more difficult (15% strongly agree, 27% somewhat agree).

While Most Canadians Think That Collaborative Health Care Teams Would Mean Better Access To Health Services For Canadians, Most Expect The Lack Of Human Resources To Remain The Main Issue Facing The Health System...

Over four in five agree that collaborative health care teams would mean better access to health services for Canadians, including 37% who strongly agree and 47% who somewhat agree. However, Canadians are just as likely to agree and much more likely to strongly agree that even with collaborative health care teams, the main issue facing the health system will still be the lack of sufficient human resources to meet the public's health needs (49% strongly agree, 37% somewhat agree).

Most give the current level of cooperation amongst health care professionals in their community an A or B grade... When asked to assign a letter grade to the level of cooperation between various health professionals, like doctors, nurses and pharmacists, in their communities, nearly seven in ten grade this aspect of the health system as either an A (26%) or a B (43%).

Most Would Be Comfortable Having Their Information Shared Among Collaborative Health Care Team Members...

Nearly four in five agree that they would feel comfortable knowing their health information would be shared with all of the health professionals in a collaborative health care team (41% strongly agree, 37% somewhat agree).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for the Canadian Medical Association and fielded from June 19 to June 29, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within 177 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Mike Colledge
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(613) 241-5802
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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