Did the implementation of team-based primary care models in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, impact appropriate prescribing?

Context: Many older adults take multiple medications prescribed by a variety of providers, which leads to concerns about medication management, appropriateness, and adverse drug events. Interdisciplinary, team-based primary care models can improve coordination of health care services, which could translate to improved medication management and related outcomes. Objective: Evaluate the impact of interdisciplinary team-based primary care models implemented in two Canadian provinces--Ontario and Quebec--on outcomes related to medication use. Study Design and Analysis: Retrospective cohort analysis of population- level administrative health data. We used difference-in-differences analysis to compare older adults rostered to team-based primary care models, to older adults not rostered to team-based models. Dataset: Data housed at ICES in Ontario and the Institut national d'excellence en sante et services sociaux (INESSS) in Quebec. We focused on fiscal years 1999/00 to 2017/18. Population Studied: Eligible patients were between 66 and 104 years of age. We matched (1-to-1 propensity score matching without replacement) an exposure group of older adults who were rostered to a physician affiliated with a team-based primary care model to a comparison group of older adults rostered to non-team family physicians. Intervention: Quebec's Family Medicine Groups (implemented in 2002) and Ontario's Family Health Teams (implemented in 2005). Outcome Measures: Any adverse drug event resulting in hospitalization, polypharmacy (5+ medication classes), and any potentially inappropriate prescription (adapted from Beer's and STOPP/START criteria). Results: Matched cohorts included 429,104 older adults in Ontario and 310,198 in Quebec. In the year before they rostered, 53% and 40% of older adults had a potentially inappropriate prescription in Ontario and Quebec, respectively. In both provinces, 1% had an adverse drug event. Quebec's Family Medicine Groups were more likely to experience an adverse drug event (RR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.10-1.17). We found no other differences between the exposure and comparison groups. Conclusions: The implementation of team-based primary care models in Ontario and Quebec was not associated with a variety of outcomes related to medication management. These results point to a need for further investigation of the composition and functioning of primary care teams to determine how they can support older adults with complex health needs
Presenters David Rudoler, PhD, Agnes Grudniewicz, PhD, Nichole Austin, PhD, Sara Allin, PhD, Richard Glazier, MD, MPH, Elisabeth Martin, PhD, Caroline Sirois, PhD, Erin [...]