Cabedo García V R, Poveda Andrés J L, Tejedo Bellver M J
Centro de Salud El Barranquet, Castellón.
Aten Primaria. 1996 Sep 30;18(5):221-4.
To discover characteristics of primary care doctors. To find homogeneous groups of doctors.
A basically descriptive crossover observational study.
Primary care doctors from a health area.
The following variables were recorded on the 99 doctors who worked in Castellon Area 03 during 1992: age, gender, fixed or temporary post, rural or urban area, MIR training, primary care model, patient load, sole employment, drugs expenditure, number of pensioners and total number of patients registered.
We found a first group of older doctors, working mainly in the old model, for whom PC was not their sole employment; another younger group without MIR training and with an average patient load; the third group was women in temporary posts with a somewhat higher drugs expenditure; the fourth was doctors working in rural areas with a very low patient load; the fifth, final and youngest group was family doctors, with an average patient load, low expenditure and a high number of patients registered. We observed highly significant differences between groups.
Doctors' age and gender divide them into different groupings; family doctors form one group. Multivariable, descriptive methods proved useful in finding, describing and classifying doctors and centres, etc., and could be of use in resource and action planning.
