ArticleHuman resources for health2024
Primary health care coverage in Portugal: the promise of a general practitioner for all.
Article in Human resources for health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- The general practice workforce crisis in Europe: scale of the challenge and available policy responses.The Lancet. Primary care · 2026Review
- The impact of an aging population on the Portuguese healthcare system-the primary healthcare perspective and the potential of the WHO ICOPE approach.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Participation in cervical cancer screening among migrants and non-migrants in primary healthcare in Lisbon: a register-based study.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Unveiling the process behind quality indicator selection in Portuguese primary healthcare - a qualitative study.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- MMSE in primary care practice: why good tests can mislead in the wrong context.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- Interprofessional Collaboration in Primary Healthcare: A Qualitative Study of General Practitioners' and Family and Community Nurses' Perspectives in Italy.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of fracture of pelvis, 1990-2021: analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrimary care is an essential pillar of health systems. Many countries have implemented different policies to improve access to primary care. However, persistent challenges remain. This paper offers a critical analysis of the evolution of primary care coverage in Portugal, focusing on the number of patients without an assigned general practitioner (GP).
methodsWe collected and analyzed publicly available data from 2009 to 2023 to decompose primary care coverage in three components: the number of patients enrolled in primary care units (demand-side effect), the number of GPs measured in full-time equivalent (supply-side effect), and the average number of patients on each GP's list (patient-to-GP ratio, capturing a productivity effect). We provide national and local level estimates for these three components.
resultsBetween 2009 and 2023, there was an overall decline in the number of patients enrolled in primary health care units. Concurrently, there was also a net decrease of GPs measured in full-time equivalent. Additionally, there was a progressive reduction in the average number of patients on each GP's list. The rise in the number of patients without an assigned GP is attributed not only to a reduction in the number of physicians, but also to a decrease in the patient load per doctor.
conclusionsHiring additional GPs may not suffice to enhance coverage. Achieving higher coverage may imply revisiting patient load per doctor or considering alternative care models. Understanding the challenges related to GP coverage is critical for improving the efficiency of primary care.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.