Improvement in the accessibility and organization of services of family physicians in a small town in Poland: a comparison of patient opinions between 1998 and 2002.

PURPOSE: The institution of a family physician was introduced in Poland to improve organization and quality of primary health care. Thus, it seems important to find out how the time factor (4 years) and the organizational changes that took place during that time have affected patients' views on primary health service accessibility. The aim of the study was to compare patients' opinions on selected aspects of the access and organization of health care provided by family physicians between the years 1998 and 2002.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two independent surveys conducted in 1998 and 2002 using face-to-face interviews with structured questionnaires. The study was carried out in a small town in Poland. The study group consisted of two samples of patients randomly selected. Altogether 1000 interviews were obtained in survey I (1998) and 1000 from another sample in survey II (2002).

RESULTS: The surveys carried out at a 4-year interval showed that the accessibility of family physician services improved between 1998 and 2002. This was reflected by: more common use of registration by phone and better overall evaluation of the registration system, shorter time spent in the waiting room to see a family physician, making an appointment for a definite hour, better opinion of the visit duration and more frequent use of phone consultations.

CONCLUSIONS: The results our study show that primary health care reform in Poland has a positive impact on the patients' opinions about access and organization of services of family physicians.