Who visits primary health care general practitioners and why? A register-based study in a Finnish city

Autor: Mika T. Lehto, Timo Kauppila, Hannu Kautiainen, Ossi Rahkonen, Merja K. Laine, Kaisu Pitkälä
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Vol 83, Iss 1 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 22423982
2242-3982
DOI: 10.1080/22423982.2024.2366034
Popis: This is a register-based study that examines the distribution of diagnoses made by general practitioners (GPs) in the public primary health care of the city of Vantaa, Finland. Data were gathered from the electronic health record (EHR) system and consisted of every record entered into the EHR system between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018. Both absolute numbers and relative proportions of the 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnosis recordings were reported and calculated. Among GP visits, the 88 most common diagnoses covered 75% of all diagnoses. The most common diagnoses were related to the musculoskeletal (3.8%, ICD code M54) and respiratory systems (6.0%, ICD-10 code J06). Primary health care GP services were mostly used by children (age 65 years). Health examinations – mostly children’s and maternity clinics appointments/visits – covered 20% of the GP office visits. Women between the ages 15–79 years had relatively more GP visits compared to men. The 88 most commonly recorded diagnoses covered the majority of the GP visits. Health examinations for the healthy were an important part of GPs’ work. In an urban Finnish city, GP services were predominantly used by children and older adults.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals