[Variations in the application of medical techniques in primary health care]

To describe the application of medical techniques (ATM) in Spain and to analyze the relationship with diverse characteristics related to general practitioners and the center of primary health.

Multicenter cross-sectional study.

Three hundred nineteen general practitioners working in primary care centers in the restructured public sector of the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia, Basque Country and Catalonia in Spain.

Structured and validated questionnaire comprising 100 items in four sections: general characteristics of the physician and health center, task profile, and job satisfaction. The questionnaire was sent by mail to the health center (Andalusia and Basque Country) or to the home (Catalonia). For the analysis an index variable was created from the answers to the questions on AMT.

The index variable of AMT obtained a mean value of 10.02 (SD = 4.55). Andalusia obtained the highest value (median: 11.11; SD: 4.33) of the three Autonomous Communities in the study (p =.012). AMT acquired significantly higher values when associated with: masculine sex (sample from the three autonomous communities; p =.046), rural environment, teamwork, availability of basic equipment, fewer patients, and reduced work load.

Index of ATM in Spain is significantly different in the three Spanish communities under study. The quality of the sanitary services evaluated from the dimension of the ATM seems to be much related with demographic characteristics, the readiness in the consultations of scientific-technical stuff and the appropriate time for medical consultations.