ATTENDANCE PATTERNS IN GENERAL-PRACTICE

Objective: To determine the completeness of data acquired previously o n the attendance patterns of patients visiting three general practices and the exclusivity of attendance at these practices. Design: A retro spective comparison of attendance data with data extracted from the He alth Insurance Commission database. Three study practices with investi gated to give a rough cross-section of general practice in Western Aus tralia. 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 mon ths, mostly only once or twice. However, there was considerable variat ion between practices in data match and attendance at other practices. Conclusions: We found a high level of completeness of data. Sixty-nin e per cent of patients attended no other practice during the six month s, indicating that doctors in the study practices have some opportunit y to provide continuity of care to their patients. The implications fo r patients' needs and doctors' resources of variations in attendance p atterns need to be examined further.