Examining Access to Primary Care on Prince Edward Island

Abstract

Introduction: Access to primary care on Prince Edward Island (PEI) is declining and primary care research on PEI is limited. Objective: To describe the state of knowledge on primary care access on PEI and to analyze the impact of access on emergency department (ED) visit acuity. Methods: We described the published knowledge on access to primary care on PEI using a scoping review. We analyzed the association between primary care access and ED visit acuity using a cross-sectional study of the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System database. Results: Published literature on access to primary care on PEI is limited. Patients with access to primary care on PEI were less likely to visit the ED for non-urgent reasons compared to patients with no access to primary care. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the need for increased research on access to primary care on PEI as limited access negatively impacts ED services.