Among the Member States with the lowest average visits to doctors in the period 2018 – 2020 was Cyprus, according to data released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. At pan-European level, a decrease in medical visits was recorded in 2021 compared to in the period 2018 – 2020. For Cyprus there were no updated data for 2021, while there were gaps in the data for the period 2018 – 2020.
As mentioned, its pandemic COVID-19 resulted in increased pressure on health professionals, affecting access to other non-pandemic specialties.
The average number of medical visits per inhabitant ranged between 3,5 and 7,8 in most EU members in 2021.
The highest average number of medical visits in 2021 was recorded in Slovakia (11,0 visits per inhabitant), followed by Germany (9,6), Hungary (9,5), the Netherlands (8,6) and the Czech Republic ( 7,8).
The lowest averages were recorded in Sweden (2,3 visits per inhabitant), Greece (2,7), Portugal (3,5), Denmark (3,8), Finland and Estonia (4,1 and at two).
There is no data available for Cyprus regarding medical visits in 2021.
Compared to the 2018-2020 annual average, the average number of medical visits fell in 19 of the 24 EU Member States for which data was available.
Increases were recorded only in Latvia (+5%), Slovakia, Poland and Austria (+3%) and the Czech Republic (+1%).
The largest decreases in the average number of medical visits were recorded in Italy (-39%), Lithuania (-24%), Spain (-20%), Estonia (-19%) and Hungary (-8%).
In the case of Cyprus, the annual average for the period 2018 – 2020 was 3,46 visits per person (2,06 visits per person in 2018, 1,56 in 2019, 6,75 in 2020). This was the third lowest average after Sweden and Greece.
Eurostat notes that the figures for Cyprus for 2018 only concern hospitals and health centers in the public sector, the figures for part of 2019 only concerned outpatient clinics of hospitals and health centers in the public sector, while for 2020 the coverage was the same with 2018, but also including visits to doctors in the medical field who participate in the NHS.
More generally in the EU, statistics on the average number of consultations include consultations in the doctor's office, at the patient's home or in hospital outpatient clinics or in mobile clinics. These figures do not include consultations or visits during treatment in the context of hospitalization or day care of patients in hospitals or similar health institutions, and they do not include remote consultations, such as by telephone.
Source: KYPE