Area‐Level Socioeconomic Status Impacts Health Care Visit Frequency by Australian Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis: Results From the Australian Rheumatology Association Database
Authors' conclusion
Patients with higher SES have relatively fewer GP visits and more specialist physician visits compared with patients with lower SES
Study context
- Population
- Australian Rheumatology Association Database (ARAD) participants with RA or PsA, Australia, 2011 to 2018 (mean ± SD age 54 ± 12 years; disease duration 6 ± 4 years)76.3% RA, 71.1% women
- Participants
- 1,916 participants
- Exposure
- Area-level socioeconomic status (SES) quintiles
- Outcome
- GP and specialist physician visit frequency and OOP visit costs
Methodological detailsregistry data linked to Pharmaceutical Benefits (PBS) and Medicare Benefits Schedule, panel regression
- Registry data linked to PBS and Medicare Benefits Schedule
- Panel regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Annual visit frequency by SES quintile (adjusted for sex, age, education, remoteness, comorbidity)
Annual general practitioner (GP) visits per higher SES quintile (inverse relationship)
−0.6 (95% CI −0.9 to −0.3) visits per quintile
Annual specialist visits per higher SES quintile (linear slope, direct relationship)
0.3 (95% CI 0.2-0.5) visits per quintile
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Average annual visits, all participants
- Annual GP visits
- 9.0 (95% CI 8.6-9.4)
- Annual specialist physician visits
- 3.9 (95% CI 3.8-4.1)
Average out-of-pocket (OOP) cost per visit
AUD$
- Specialist physician visit
- 38.43 (95% CI 37.34-39.53)
- GP visit
- 7.86 (95% CI 7.42-8.31)
- Higher SES associated with greater OOP cost
Original publication
Area‐Level Socioeconomic Status Impacts Health Care Visit Frequency by Australian Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis: Results From the Australian Rheumatology Association Database. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Published 17 December 2024. doi:10.
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