Attendance patterns in general practice.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the completeness of data acquired previously on the attendance patterns of patients visiting three general practices and the exclusivity of attendance at these practices.

DESIGN

A retrospective comparison of attendance data with data extracted from the Health Insurance Commission database. Three study practices were investigated to give a rough cross-section of general practice in Western Australia.

RESULTS

Eighty-nine per cent of patients and 92% of services recorded in our earlier study were also recorded by the HIC, with 31% of patients also attending another general practice during the six months, mostly only once or twice. However, there was considerable variation between practices in data match and attendance at other practices.

CONCLUSIONS

We found a high level of completeness of data. Sixty-nine per cent of patients attended no other practice during the six months, indicating that doctors in the study practices have some opportunity to provide continuity of care to their patients. The implications for patients' needs and doctors' resources of variations in attendance patterns need to be examined further.