Gastroenterology Practitioner and Trainee Numbers in Canada 2018: Annual Report From the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology

Abstract

Background It is necessary for health planners, educators and physician and patient organizations to be aware of trends in gastroenterologist (GI) numbers in order to ensure that patients have timely access to care. Methods The number of GIs in practice and the number of trainees in the specialty was determined for 2018 using three national databases compared with previous years. Results In 2018, there were 787 GIs in Canada, which equated to 2.1 GIs per 100,000 population. There are marked differences between provinces with numbers ranging from 1.1 to 2.9 per 100,000. There are 53 GIs specializing in pediatric GI care. Forty-six per cent of practitioners under the age of 35 years are female. Seventy-two residents are training in adult GI and six in pediatrics. Approximately 75% of fellows in adult and pediatric GI are training on temporary visas. The number of adult GIs is decreasing despite increasing national population growth and service demand. The numbers of trainees in both adult and pediatric GI are lower than in 2010. If these trends continue, wait times for GI care, which are already poor, will likely increase further. Conclusions Continued monitoring of human resource numbers, patient access to care and validation of current data is required. The purpose of this report is to present the number of gastroenterologists (GIs), both in practice and in training, in Canada for 2018. We also wished to examine the 2018 numbers by province and gender, compare the 2018 numbers with those of previous years and describe the practice settings and organization.