Who provides chronic disease management? Population-based retrospective cohort study in Alberta

To determine the proportions of patients who receive care from family physicians, specialists, and nurse practitioners for the management of common chronic medical conditions.

Population-based retrospective cohort study.

Province of Alberta.

Adults aged 19 years or older who were registered for provincial health services and each had 2 or more interactions with the same provider between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017, for any of 7 specified chronic medical conditions: hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and chronic kidney disease.

Numbers of patients being managed for these conditions and which provider types were involved in their care.

Albertans receiving care for the chronic medical conditions being studied (n=970,783) had a mean (SD) age of 56.8 (16.3) years and 49.1% were female. Family physicians were the sole providers of care for 85.7% of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension, 70.9% with diabetes, 59.8% with COPD, and 65.5% with asthma. Specialists were sole providers of care for 49.1% of patients with ischemic heart disease, 42.2% with chronic kidney disease, and 35.6% with heart failure. Nurse practitioners were involved in the care of less than 1% of patients with these conditions.

Family physicians were involved in the care of most patients with any of 7 chronic medical conditions included in this study and were the sole providers of care for the majority of patients with hypertension, diabetes, COPD, and asthma. Guideline working group representation and the setting of clinical trials should reflect this reality.