Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences iv July 2008 The Impact of Not Having a Primary Care Physician Among People with Chronic Conditions About ICES About ICES Ontario’s resource for informed health care decision-making The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) is an independent, non-profi t organization that produces knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of health care for Ontar [...] Research suggests that the strength and extent of a country’s primary health care system are related to population life expectancy and infant mortality rates, to self-reported health among citizens, to socioeconomic disparities and to population satisfaction in relation to overall health system costs.4,5 For example, a 2001 systematic review found evidence that increased accessibility to physician [...] Lack of access to a regular source of medical care has been associated with excess emergency department visits.7 Having a regular source of care has also been linked to increased preventive health care8 (i.e., people are more likely to go for regular screening tests to identify health problems), and also to improved glycemic control for people with diabetes.9 Appropriate access to primary health c [...] Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences 2 July 2008 The Impact of Not Having a Primary Care Physician Among People with Chronic Conditions Privacy, Data Sources and Methods Privacy, Data Sources and Methods A note about privacy ICES routinely receives health services administrative data feeds according to a data-sharing agreement with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). [...] The CCHS is designed to provide timely, cross-sectional estimates of health determinants, health status and health system utilization at a sub-provincial level (i.e., in a single health region or a combination of health regions).