Family Medicine

Family medicine encompasses the diagnostic and treatment responsibilities of family physicians and general practitioners in Ontario, who function as the first point of contact for most patients and as the longitudinal coordinators of care across specialists, diagnostic services, and hospitals. Common allegations of negligence in family medicine claims include failure to investigate red-flag symptoms, failure to refer to a specialist when indicated, failure to follow up on abnormal test results, inadequate documentation of clinical reasoning, and failure to recommend appropriate screening.

The standard of care for a family physician is what a reasonable family physician practising in similar circumstances would have done. Ontario courts have repeatedly held that family physicians are not held to the standard of a specialist, but they are expected to recognize when a presentation is beyond their scope and to refer appropriately. The standard is informed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario’s policies and the practice guidelines of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, although both function as background only: in litigation, the actual standard is proven through expert evidence.

Posts tagged Family Medicine analyze Ontario decisions involving primary care, including missed and delayed diagnoses, referral failures, and the boundary between general practice and specialist responsibility.