Geographical distribution of primary care clinics for elderly ambulatory diabetic patients in Ibaraki Prefecture / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

<b>Introduction</b> The appropriate size of the regional coverage area for primary care in Japan has been unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the geographical distribution of primary care clinics for elderly ambulatory diabetic patients.<br><b>Methods</b> Using an insurance claims database, we extracted data of patients aged 75 years and older requiring ambulatory diabetic care in May 2010 in Ibaraki prefecture. The geographical distance from each municipal office to the clinics was analyzed.<br><b>Results</b> A total of 17,717 data points were extracted from the database. Data points that could not be mapped due to coding errors were eliminated, resulting in 17,144 (96.8%) data points that were ultimately analyzed. The median [25th-75th percentile] geographical distance was 5.5 [2.3-9.9] km. The distance was not related to municipal population, aging rate, or area size.<br><b>Conclusion</b> The coverage area for diabetic care in this primary care setting was estimated. For most elderly ambulatory diabetic patients, clinics are distributed within a 10-km radius area. Further investigation is needed to clarify primary care coverage areas that result in the most efficient use of medical resources.