Background: Primary health care services are
the cornerstone of many health care systems in
Europe. The systematic analysis of annual
consultation rates in the primary care centres is
important for the evaluation of the performance
and the adequacy of care provided.
Sample and methods: To assess the current
and future visitation rates in a large health
centre in North West Greece we conducted a
retrospective research, by analyzing the
outpatient office visits to the health centre
during 2005-2006. Based on these data we
developed a projection model in order to predict the future use of these services and the use of
laboratory tests.
Results: T-test revealed to a statistical
significant difference (p=0.020) between the
year and the mean number of visits. More
precisely the year 2006 the mean number of
visits in the Health Centre was bigger
(595,552±171,921) than that of the year 2005
(411,483±118,785). The analysis did not show a
similar statistical difference between the year
and the mean number of diagnostic tests
performed the same period of time. There was an increase in the total number of primary care
visits during 2006 (17.5%) compared with the
year 2005 and is projected to increase 60%
(range from 0% to 60%) during 2007. General
internal medicine services were mainly
provided to the users.
Conclusions: Better management of persistent
primary care use may better address the
patients' underlying problems, reduce
unnecessary demand, and relieve some of the
pressure on the capacity of primary care
providers to deliver care to all patients. This
study demonstrates the importance of
augmenting primary health care centers with
qualified nursing and medical staff and supplies
in residential areas during the summer to cope with the situation and of providing proper and
adequate primary care services.