ArticleBMC primary care2023
Consultation frequency and general practitioners' and practices' characteristics.
Article in BMC primary care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Observational
- Healthcare inequalities in general practice due to educational level: A retrospective cohort study analysing patients' presentation and GP response to requests.The European journal of general practice · 2026Article
- Consultation frequency patterns for older patients in Danish general practice: a nationwide register-based cohort study.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Follow-Up in Primary Care After Ischemic Stroke - Insights From the Nor-COAST Study.International journal of general medicine · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHigh workloads generated by a few patients who consult very frequently can become huge burdens for general practitioners (GPs). Patient-related factors have been repeatedly associated with frequent consultations, but there is evidence that GPs can also influence that frequency. We investigated how patients, GPs and their practices' organisational characteristics were associated with consultation frequency.
methodsData came from the SPAM Prev (Swiss Primary Health Care Active Monitoring, Prevention in primary care) national, cross-sectional survey conducted in 2015-16, including 167 GPs and 1105 patients. GPs completed an online questionnaire focused on practice organisation. Patients randomly recruited in general practices completed a questionnaire with fieldworkers. Factors predicting consultation frequency were investigated using multilevel Poisson regression models.
resultsNegative associations with consultation frequency were found for females (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 0.94, 95%CI [0.88-1.01]), less compliant patients (IRR 0.91, 95%CI [0.84-0.98]), high self-perceived health status (IRR 0.8, 95%CI [0.75-0.84]) and physical exercise (IRR 0.87, 95%CI [0.81-0.94]). Consultation frequencies were higher among patients with sleeping problems (IRR 1.08, 95%CI [0.96-1.23]), psychological distress (IRR 1.66, 95%CI [1.49-1.86]), chronic diseases (IRR 1.27, 95%CI [1.18-1.37]) and treatment with medication (IRR 1.24, 95%CI [1.12-1.37]). Positive associations with consultation frequency were found among GPs working longer hours (IRR 1.21, 95%CI [1.01-1.46]). Using shared medical records (IRR 0.79, 95%CI [0.67-0.92]) were negatively associated with consultation frequency.
conclusionGPs' practices' characteristics, like patients', are predictive of patients' consultation frequency, but those associations' underlying mechanisms require further qualitative investigation. These new findings could help optimise intervention strategies and reduce healthcare costs.
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