Proportion of Physicians in Rural Areas
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Country
Publishing Organisation
Type of Quality Indicator
IOM Quality Dimension
Domain
Defining Attributes
Definition
This indicator measures the proportion of active physicians in rural areas.
Numerator
The number of active physicians in rural areas. Rural status is derived using the postal code associated with the physician's primary mailing address. Based on Statistics Canada's methodology, postal codes outside of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) were coded as rural.
Denominator
The number of total active physicians in rural and urban areas.
Exclusions
Denominator Exclusions: Residents, physicians in the military, and semi-retired and retired physicians Non-registered physicians who requested that their information not be published as of December 31 of the reference year Physicians whose urban/rural status is unknown Numerator Exclusions: Residents, physicians in the military, and semi-retired and retired physicians Non-registered physicians who requested that their information not be published as of December 31 of the reference year.
Use of Risk Adjustment
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
Data Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Data Collection Methods
Administrative data.
Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
Published online. Reported at National, Province/Territory, and Provider levels.
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Proportion of Physicians in Rural Areas. Last Updated October 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. www.cihi.ca/en/indicators/proportion-of-physicians-in-rural-areas