Filenews 29 August 2023
Among the Member States with the lowest average visits to doctors between 2018 and 2020 was Cyprus, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.
At a pan-European level, a decrease in medical visits was recorded in 2021, compared to the period 2018 – 2020. For Cyprus there were no updated data for 2021, while there were gaps in the data for the period 2018 – 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased pressure on healthcare professionals, affecting access to other specialties unrelated to the pandemic.
The average number of medical visits per inhabitant ranged between 3.5 and 7.8 in most EU members in 2021.
The highest average number of medical visits in 2021 was recorded in Slovakia (11.0 visits per inhabitant), followed by Germany (9.6), Hungary (9.5), the Netherlands (8.6) and Czechia (7.8).
The lowest averages were recorded in Sweden (2.3 visits per inhabitant), Greece (2.7), Portugal (3.5), Denmark (3.8), Finland and Estonia (both 4.1).
Data on medical visits in 2021 are not available for Cyprus.
Compared to the 2018-2020 annual average, the average number of medical visits decreased in 19 of the 24 EU members for which data were available.
Increases were recorded only in Latvia (+5%), Slovakia, Poland and Austria (+3%) and Czechia (+1%).
The largest decreases in the average number of medical visits were recorded in Italy (-39%), Lithuania (-24%), Spain (-20%), Estonia (-19%) and Hungary (-8%).
In the case of Cyprus, the annual average for the period 2018 – 2020 was 3.46 visits per person (2.06 visits per person in 2018, 1.56 in 2019, 6.75 in 2020). This was the third lowest average after Sweden and Greece.
Eurostat notes that the data for Cyprus for 2018 refer only to hospitals and health centres in the public sector, the data for part of 2019 concerned only the outpatient clinics of hospitals and public sector health centres, while for 2020 the coverage was the same as in 2018, but also including visits to doctors in the medical sector participating in the GHS.
More generally in the EU, statistics on the average number of consultations include consultations in the doctor's office, at the patient's home or in hospital outpatient clinics or mobile practices. This does not include consultations or visits during treatment in the context of hospitalisation or day care of patients in hospitals or similar health institutions, and does not include remote consultations, such as by telephone.
