Study on Primary Care Health Service Utilization in Hong Kong

Primary Care Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01422031
• Other study ID #: HKCTR-366
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: August 8, 2011
• Last updated: January 23, 2015
• Start date: September 2007
• Est. completion date: August 2008

Study information

• Verified date: January 2015
• Source: The University of Hong Kong
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Hong Kong: Ethics Committee
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

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

1. the rates and pattern of utilization of different primary health care services and self-care

2. Patient self-reported outcomes (global rating on change in health, satisfaction and patient enablement) of primary care consultations;

3. the process of care in consultations including drug and non-drug managements, investigations, preventive care and referrals;

4. 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.

Description:

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 3148
• Est. completion date: August 2008
• Est. primary completion date: August 2008
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

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

Study Design

Observational Model: Cohort, Time Perspective: Prospective

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Family Practice
• Health Services Utilization
• Primary Care

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
China	Family Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine, HKU	Hong Kong	Hong Kong

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
The University of Hong Kong	Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong

Country where clinical trial is conducted

China, 

References & Publications (2)

Lam CL, Leung GM, Mercer SW, Fong DY, Lee A, Lam TP, Lo YT. Utilisation patterns of primary health care services in Hong Kong: does having a family doctor make any difference? Hong Kong Med J. 2011 Jun;17(3 Suppl 3):28-32. — View Citation

Lam CL, Yu EY, Lo YY, Wong CK, Mercer SM, Fong DY, Lee A, Lam TP, Leung GM. Having a Family Doctor is Associated with Some Better Patient-Reported Outcomes of Primary Care Consultations. Front Med (Lausanne). 2014 Sep 15;1:29. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2014.00029 — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Primary care doctor choice group		baseline	No
Primary	Monthly utilization rate		Baseline	No
Primary	Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI)		Baseline	No
Primary	Rates of non-drug managements		Baseline	No
Secondary	Doctor shopping rate		Baseline	No
Secondary	Self-medication rates during the last episode of illness		Baseline	No
Secondary	Prescribing rate during last episode of illness		Baseline	No
Secondary	Prevalence of preventive care		Baseline	No
Secondary	Self-perceived health score		Baseline	No
Secondary	Patient satisfaction		Baseline	No