ArticleBJGP open2024
Dutch GP healthcare consumption in COVID-19 heterogeneous regions: an interregional time-series approach in 2020-2021.
Article in BJGP open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- AI-driven early infectious disease detection in Dutch primary care using BERT and ERNIE.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Implications of Data Extraction and Processing of Electronic Health Records for Epidemiological Research: Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Observational
- Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on Dutch General Practitioner Prenatal Primary Care: Retrospective, Observational Cohort Study Using an Interrupted Time-Series Approach.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Downsizing chronic disease management programs for type 2 diabetes patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: changes in healthcare utilization patterns.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Patterns of psychotropic drug prescriptions and general practice consultations among community-dwelling older people with dementia during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
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12 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundMany countries observed a sharp decline in the use of general practice services after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research has not yet considered how changes in healthcare consumption varied among regions with the same restrictive measures but different COVID-19 prevalence.
aimTo investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected healthcare consumption in Dutch general practice during 2020 and 2021, among regions with known heterogeneity in COVID-19 prevalence, from a pre-pandemic baseline in 2019. DESIGN &
settingPopulation-based cohort study using electronic health records. The study was undertaken in Dutch general practices involved in regional research networks.
methodAn interrupted time-series analysis of changes in healthcare consumption from before to during the pandemic was performed. Descriptive statistics were used on the number of potential COVID-19-related contacts, reason for contact, and type of contact.
resultsThe study covered 3 595 802 contacts (425 639 patients), 3 506 637 contacts (433 340 patients), and 4 105 413 contacts (434 872 patients) in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. Time-series analysis revealed a significant decrease in healthcare consumption after the outbreak of the pandemic. Despite interregional heterogeneity in COVID-19 prevalence, healthcare consumption decreased comparably over time in the three regions, before rebounding to a level significantly higher than baseline in 2021. Physical consultations transitioned to phone or digital over time.
conclusionHealthcare consumption decreased irrespective of the regional prevalence of COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic, with the Delta variant triggering a further decrease. Overall, changes in care consumption appeared to reflect contextual factors and societal restrictions rather than infection rates.
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