Abstract
Objective To identify consistently high users of primary health care and describe their use of services, characteristics, and comorbidities.
Design Retrospective analysis of de-identified patient data from 23 physicians contributing to the DELPHI (Deliver Primary Healthcare Information) database of electronic medical records between October 1, 2005, and June 30, 2010.
Setting Ten primary care practice sites in southwestern Ontario.
Participants A total of 1971 patients whose data were coded with the International Classification of Primary Care.
Main outcome measures Patient characteristics analyzed included sex, age, chronic conditions diagnosed by the end of the first year, multimorbidity (defined as 3 or more total chronic conditions), urban or rural postal code, and median family income quintile. Consistency of high primary health care use was measured using the total number of primary care visits in each of the 4 years that were studied (July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2010), creating 3 outcome groups: never high users, sometimes high users (above the 90th percentile in 1 to 2 years), and consistent high users (above the 90th percentile in 3 to 4 years). Bivariate analyses and multinomial logistic regression were used to test for effects of patient characteristics on consistency of high use.
Results Older patients were significantly more likely to become sometimes or consistent high users (P < .05). Multimorbidity at baseline increased the odds of being a sometimes high user by 2.3 times (P < .001) and a consistent high user by 4.1 times (P < .001). Patients in rural locations were 1.8 times more likely to become consistent high users (P = .010). In the multinomial regression, sex and income were not associated with odds of high use. Significantly higher prevalences of chronic respiratory, musculoskeletal, and psychological conditions were seen in the consistent high users (P < .05).
Conclusion Older patients with multimorbidity and those in rural locations are at a significantly higher risk of becoming consistent high users of primary health care. Several years of electronic medical record data were essential to conducting this research on the characteristics associated with becoming consistent high users of primary health care.
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