Table 1 Characteristics of the Family Physicians (FPs) and their practices
From: A pilot study examining Toronto-area family physician perspectives on thyroid neoplasm evaluation
Variable | Percentage (number) (N = 58) |
|---|---|
Location of practice | Brampton – 41.4% (24) |
Markham – 58.6% (34) | |
Female gender | 55.2% (32) |
Years practicing Family Medicine | Less than 5 years – 20.7% (12) |
5 to 10 years - 20.0% (11) | |
11 to 19 years – 19.0% (12) | |
More than 20 years – 39.7% (23) | |
University affiliation | 32.8% (19) |
Most common ethnic background of patients | Caucasian – 22.4% (13) |
Asian – 39.7% (23) | |
Hispanic – 0% (0) | |
Black – 0% (0) | |
Mixed (no predominance) – 36.2% (21) | |
Other (“African”) – 1.7% (1) | |
Number of patients with thyroid nodules or thyroid cancer seen in a typical month | 0 to 1–53.4% (31) |
2 to 5–39.7% (23) | |
6 to 10–1.7% (1) | |
11 to 20–3.4% (2) | |
21 to 50–1.7% (1) | |
More than 50–0% (0) | |
Services that are easy to access in the vicinity of FP practice | Thyroid ultrasound – 100% (55) |
Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of the thyroid – 79.3% (46) | |
Endocrinology consultation – 84.5% (49) | |
Thyroid surgeon – 58.6% (34) | |
Order or perform biopsies of the thyroid | 39.7% (23) |
Follow some thyroid cancer survivors in FP practice (without concurrent specialist involvement) | 32.8% (19) |