Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Walk-in clinics in Ontario. An atmosphere of tension.
To explore family practice (FP), emergency department (ED), and walk-in clinic (WIC) physicians' perceptions and experiences regarding the effect of walk-in clinics on Ontario's health care system. ⋯ Both FP and ED participants acknowledged their contribution to the gap in primary care services. They appeared to attribute current problems in health care delivery to the perceived deficiencies of WICs. The outcome was a marked tension among participants.
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To compare walk-in clinics with other primary care settings on characteristics associated with best practices in primary care. ⋯ Although WICs, MPs, and AHCs provided walk-in services to Ontario patients, WICs and MPs also provided a substantial amount of ongoing care and preventive services. Independent AHCs appeared to most closely fit the "walk-in clinic" stereotype.