Trends in use of health care services in Swedish primary care district. A ten year perspective.

In a study that covered ten years a questionnaire about use of health care facilities was mailed each autumn to 1/60 representative samples of the population in Sollentuna, a Swedish primary care district with three health centres. Primary care was the health care form with the greatest contact area with the population studied. However, the strengthening of district physician resources at one of the three health centres did not, in the long term, lead to more people coming into contact with this form of medical care. It was more common for those who visited a private doctor or school/company doctor also to consult a district physician than vice versa. Similarly, hospital patients visited the health centre to a greater degree than patients of health centres visited hospitals. The only long-term change in the flow of patients that could be registered was a reduction in the number of patients who visited hospital emergency departments. It is concluded that the implementation of an annual survey may be considerably more helpful than more sparse investigations in distinguishing between temporary fluctuations and real changes.