Access to Primary Care for Persons Recently Released From Prison

• Published in: Annals of family medicine Vol. 16; no. 6; pp. 549 - 551
• Main Authors: Fahmy, Nahla, MD, Kouyoumdjian, Fiona G., MD, MPH, PhD, Berkowitz, Jonathan, PhD, Fahmy, Sharif, MBA, Neves, Carlos Magno, MA, Hwang, Stephen W., MD, Martin, Ruth Elwood, MD, MPH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Annals of Family Medicine 01.11.2018; American Academy of Family Physicians
• Subjects: Ex-convicts; Family Medicine/General Medicine; Health aspects; Health care services accessibility; Internal Medicine; Offender reintegration; Research Briefs; Social aspects; Canada; primary health care; prisoners; discrimination; prisons
• ISSN: 1544-1709; 1544-1717
• DOI: 10.1370/afm.2314

Abstract We aimed to determine if a history of recent imprisonment affects access to primary care. Using patient roles, we telephoned to request an initial appointment with all family physicians (n = 339) who were accepting new patients in British Columbia, Canada. We sequentially assigned patient scenarios: male or female recently released from prison; male or female control. Controls were 1.98 (95% CI, 1.59-2.46) times as likely to be offered an appointment compared with persons recently released from prison, with an absolute risk difference of 41.8% (95% CI, 31.0-52.5). Our study suggests discrimination is a barrier to primary care for people released from prison, even with universal health insurance. We need to improve access to primary care during the high-risk period following prison release.