Comprehensive practice: Normative definition across 3 generations of alumni from a single family practice program, 1985 to 2012.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the range of services and procedures offered by family physicians who define themselves as comprehensive practitioners and compare responses across 3 generations of alumni of a single family practice program.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING: Western University in London, Ont.

PARTICIPANTS: All graduates of the family medicine program between 1985 and 2012.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported provision of the following types of care: in-office care, in-hospital care, intrapartum obstetrics, housecalls, palliative care, after-hours care, nursing home care, minor surgery, emergency department care, sport medicine, and walk-in care. Sex, training site (urban or rural), size of community of practice, practice model, and satisfaction with practice were also reported.

RESULTS: Participants practised in 7 provinces and 1 territory across Canada, but principally in Ontario. A small number were located in the United States. There was a decline in the number of services provided across 3 generations of graduates, with newer graduates providing fewer services than the older graduates. Significant decreases across the 3 groups were observed in provision of housecalls ( P = .004), palliative care ( P = .028), and nursing home care ( P < .001). Non-significant changes were seen in provision of intrapartum obstetrics across the 3 alumni groups, with an initial decline and then increase in reported activity. Most respondents were in a family health organization or family health network practice model and those in such models reported offering significantly more services than those in family health group or salary models ( P < .001).

CONCLUSION: The normative definition of comprehensive care varies across 3 generations of graduates of this family medicine program, with newer physicians reporting fewer overall services and procedures than older graduates. Greater understanding of the forces (institutional, regulatory, economic, and personal) that determine the meaning of comprehensive primary care is necessary if this foundational element of family medicine is to be preserved.