Study on Primary Care Health Service Utilization in Hong Kong

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this study was to find out the utilization rate and pattern of primary health care services, and the process and outcomes of primary care consultations of the general population in Hong Kong, and whether having a family doctor would make any difference. The study objectives were to determine the rates and pattern of utilization of different primary health care services and self-care Patient self-reported outcomes (global rating on change in health, satisfaction and patient enablement) of primary care consultations; the process of care in consultations including drug and non-drug managements, investigations, preventive care and referrals; the effect of having a regular family doctor on service utilization rate and pattern, health promotion practice, and process and outcomes of primary care consultations.

Detailed Description
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Study Design: A Cross-sectional general population survey and a longitudinal study (12-weeks follow up) Method: Two phases, corresponding to Summer and Winter, respectively, of cross-sectional telephone survey on the Hong Kong general population using a structured questionnaire to collect information on the choice primary care doctors, illness rates, primary care service utilization rates and self-reported process and outcomes of consultations. A longitudinal study for 12 weeks was carried out on a sub-sample of the cross-sectional study subjects to collect data to cross-validate cross-sectional data. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to determine whether there was any difference in service utilization rates, process and outcomes among people using different types of primary care doctors.

Official Title
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Utilization Pattern of Primary Health Care Services in Hong Kong - Does Having a Family Doctor Make Any Difference?

Conditions
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Primary Care, Health Services Utilization, Family Practice

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Written consent to study Exclusion Criteria: Non-residential numbers Inability to communicate in Cantonese, Putonghua or English Refusal to telephone interview No contact after 5 attempts
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Regular Family Doctor (RFD)<br>People had a regular primary care doctor who is a family doctor | |
| Regular not Family doctor (RnFD)<br>People had a regular primary care doctor who is not a family doctor | |
| Not regular doctor (NRD)<br>People had no regular primary care doctor | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary care doctor choice group |  | baseline | 
| Monthly utilization rate |  | Baseline | 
| Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) |  | Baseline | 
| Rates of non-drug managements |  | Baseline | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Doctor shopping rate |  | Baseline | 
| Self-medication rates during the last episode of illness |  | Baseline | 
| Prescribing rate during last episode of illness |  | Baseline | 
| Prevalence of preventive care |  | Baseline | 
| Self-perceived health score |  | Baseline | 
| Patient satisfaction |  | Baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Primary care, Family doctor, Consultation, utilization, Non-drug managements, Patient enablement index