Will the real family physicians please stand up! (A medical manpower report)

Recent government studies have reported an oversupply of family physicians and recommended reductions in their numbers. Believing these recommendations to be based on overestimates, as the unfounded assumption is made that all non-specialists are family physicians in active practice, we attempted to determine how many physicians were actually in general practice in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1984. Using screening procedures followed by a mailed questionnaire to confirm our results and obtain further information about family practice, we identified only 309 general practitioners of 662 non-specialists. Only 45% of the total number of physicians who are not practising a specialty other than family medicine, and who are registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, could be positively identified as family physicians. We therefore recommend that information on actual numbers of family physicians, rather than non-specialists as a whole, be made available to policy makers determining personnel requirements. Questionnaire results indicated certain problem areas in family practice, particularly long work weeks, inadequate coverage for practices, and lack of hospital privileges and obstetrical care. We suggest that professionals in family medicine address these problems.