The complexity of family medicine consultations increased by 12.9% between 2019 and 2022, coinciding with the pandemic years. This is reported in a recent study published in BMC Primary Care, conducted by professionals from IDIAPJGol and the Catalan Health Institute. The analysis is based on data recorded by 90 sentinel physicians from 30 primary care centers in the Maresme region, who provided real-world information on their clinical activity.

Increase in activity

During the study period, these centers recorded 17,473 visits, corresponding to 23,998 reasons for consultation, with a progressive increase in both the number of daily visits and the volume of demands raised by each patient during a single consultation. According to the study, psychosocial pathology also increased, rising from 3.15% of cases to 4.49% over the same period.

The types of visits underwent significant changes following the pandemic. Face-to-face consultations, which accounted for 67.5% in 2019, decreased sharply in 2021 and partially recovered in 2022. By contrast, telephone consultations multiplied, and e-consultations, which were virtually nonexistent in 2019, accounted for 9.74% of activity in 2022.

Increasingly complex visits

The proportion of consultations considered complex rose from 33.2% in 2019 to 37.5% in 2022. In the case of face-to-face consultations, complexity was higher, increasing from 40.2% to 53.1%, with significant increases across all categories, particularly emotional and communicative complexity. In contrast, no increases in emotional or social complexity were detected in telephone and non-face-to-face consultations.

According to IDIAPJGol researcher Juan José Montero-Alía, first author of the article, these data show that “if the complexity of visits continues to increase, it will be essential to adjust the available time and resources to ensure safe and appropriate care in each consultation.”

Article reference

Montero-Alía JJ, Seda-Gombau G, Zamora-Sánchez MV, Del Mar Rodríguez-Álvarez M, López-Torrent E, Torán-Montserrat P. Analysis of the increase in the complexity of care in family medicine. BMC Prim Care. 2025 Oct 14;26(1):311. doi: 10.1186/s12875-025-02939-2. PMID: 41087914; PMCID: PMC12522289.