[Study of the demand for laboratory tests in primary care]

To study the demand for laboratory test from a sample of Primary Care doctors.

A crossover observational study.

Primary care medical clinics in Spain and Andorra.

Volunteer doctor with primary care practices.

The study was based on: a) a questionnaire to the doctors taking part, on their clinical consultations, b) recording of the age and gender of patients seen during four consecutive weeks, and c) the logging of the laboratory tests requested during these four weeks.

82 doctors took part. They had 37,383 clinical consultations, asking for 1,965 analytical studies with 7,248 tests; i.e., they generated 5.25 requests for analysis per hundred consultations. The doctors who requested most analyses had less consultations/day and less consultations/inhabitants/year. When the distance to the laboratory increased, the analyses per consultation lessened and the analyses per inhabitant went up. The most common reason for requesting analysis was the follow-up of an already-known pathology.

A request for analysis is made in 5.25% of primary care consultations. The most common reason is to follow up an already-known pathology.