Large increase in digital visits in primary care

In January last year, the regions reported approximately 31,000 digital care visits.

The corresponding figure in January this year was just over 116,000 visits, according to a new report from the National Board of Health and Welfare.

 - The physical visits have decreased and the distance visits have increased, says Sevim Barbasso Helmers, investigator at the National Board of Health and Welfare, to the news agency Siren.

According to Sevim Barbasso Helmers, distance visits to primary care increased from the beginning of the pandemic and have since continued to be high compared to before.

- This way of working is here to stay.

But it looks different in the regions.

Some regions were able to start with it from the beginning, while in other regions it has been a bit slower, she says.

Jönköping County stands out

The highest proportion of distance visits, ie video calls, in 2020 was in the Stockholm Region.

Of the region's care contacts in primary care, 13 percent were distance visits.

Region Gotland and Region Jönköping County had the lowest proportion of physical visits to receptions last year, approximately 62 per cent, but a high proportion of telephone and letter contacts compared with other regions.

The regions' distance visits do not include digital contacts with private care providers. In total, the regions' distance visits accounted for 4 per cent of contacts in primary care in 2020. Distance visits to private care providers, such as Kry or Min Doktor, accounted for 8 per cent of the total number of contacts in primary care last year. The proportion of physical visits to clinics in primary care, such as health centers, was 73 per cent for the whole country by 2020.