Usually, the primary provider is a general practitioner who takes care of some of the basic health needs and then refers to a specialist for complicated medical problems.
Example Citation: Dr. Tom Dickson, chief of staff at the William Osler Health Centre in Brampton, Ont., said the FP [family physician] shortage is so severe in the ring of suburbs surrounding Toronto — the '905 belt' — that dozens of orphan patients are arriving at local community hospitals every day.
—Patrick Sullivan, "Enter the hospitalist: new type of patient creating a new type of specialist," Canadian Medical Association Journal, May 2, 2000 Earliest Citation: Recent media reports have identified a growing problem in Ontario's health care system — the care of "orphan patients."
Solutions to the orphan patient problem are complex, as expected due to its multifactorial origins.
It is not easy to increase the number of physicians and other health care providers available, as the time to train them tends to be long.