Weak association between socioeconomic Care Need Index and primary care visits per registered patient in three Swedish regions

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the association between primary care consultations and a Care Need Index (CNI) used to compensate Swedish primary care practices for the extra workload associated with patients with low socioeconomic status. DESIGN: Observational study combining graphical analysis with linear regressions of cross-sectional administrative practice-level data. SETTING: Three Swedish regions, Västra Götaland, Skåne and Östergötland (3.5 million residents). Outcomes were measured in February 2018 and the CNI was computed based on data for 31 December 2017. SUBJECTS: The unit of analysis was the primary care practice (n = 390). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: i) Number of GP visits per registered patient; ii) Number of nurse visits per registered patient; iii) Number of morbidity-weighted GP visits per registered patient; iv) Number of morbidity-weighted nurse visits per registered patient. RESULTS: The linear associations between the CNI and GP visits per patient were positive and statistically significant (p