Comparison of primary care experiences among adults in general outpatient clinics and private general practice clinics in Hong Kong

One thousand adults in Hong Kong aged 18 and above were interviewed by a telephone survey. The modified Chinese translated Primary Care Assessment Tool was used to collect data on respondents' primary care experience.Our results indicated that services provided by GOPC were more often used by female, older, poorer, chronically-ill and less educated population. GOPC participants were also more likely to have visited a specialist or used specialist services (69.7% vs. 52.0%; p < 0.001), although this difference in utilization of specialist services disappeared after adjusting for age (55.7% vs. 52.0%, p = 0.198). Analyses were also performed to asses the relationship between healthcare settings (GOPCs versus private GPs) and primary care quality. Private GP patients achieved higher overall PCAT scores largely due to better accessibility (Mean: 6.88 vs. 8.41, p < 0.001) and person-focused care (Mean: 8.37 vs. 11.69, p < 0.001).Our results showed that patients primarily receiving care from private GPs in Hong Kong reported better primary care experiences than those primarily receiving care from GOPCs. This was largely due to the greater accessibility and better interpersonal relationships offered by the private GPs. As most patients use both GOPCs and private GPs, their overall primary care experiences may not be as different as the findings of this study imply.Considerable evidence supports the important role of primary care in the prevention of illness and death, regardless of whether the care is characterized by the supply of primary care physicians, a relationship with a source of primary care, or the receipt of important features of primary care [1]. Good primary care, in contrast to specialist services, is also associated with a more equitable distribution of health within and across populations [2,3]. Overall, both individual and ecological studies have demonstrated that high quality primary care is associated with better health outcomes [4-6].Early reports of th