OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of self-initiated and community-driven "grassroots" interprofessional teams relative to formally designated family health teams (FHTs) supported by government transition programs and non-team practices in Ontario. DESIGN: Retrospective matched cohort study. SETTING: Health administrative data spanning 2016 to 2021 from ICES in Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: Grassroots practices were matched to FHTs and non-team physician practices in the health administrative data set. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient attachment, visits, continuity, and preventive care metrics were compared using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: =.18). CONCLUSION: Grassroots team-based care in Ontario is associated with positive impacts on primary care access and delivery of preventive services, inspiring confidence in these developments. Initiatives that encourage family practices to pursue their own conceptualization of effective team-based care may be beneficial, although there is a need for further research to assess the broader effects and scalability of such models.
Shah et al. (Fri,) studied this question.