Patient experience of residents with restricted primary care access during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives To evaluate primary care access for COVID-19 consultation among residents who have a usual source of care(USC)and to examine their associations with patient experience during the pandemic in Japan.Design Nationwide cross-sectional study.Setting Japanese general adult population.Participants 1004 adult residents who have a USC.Main outcome measures Patient experience assessed by the Japanese version of Primary Care Assessment Tool Short Form(JPCAT-SF).Results A total of 198(19.7%)reported restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation despite having a USC.After adjustment for possible confounders,restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation was negatively associated with the JPCAT-SF total score(adjusted mean difference=−8.61,95%CI−11.11 to−6.10).In addition,restricted primary care access was significantly associated with a decrease in all JPCAT-SF domain scores.Conclusions Approximately one-fifth of adult residents who had a USC reported restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation during the pandemic in Japan.Our study also found that restricted primary care access for COVID-19 consultation was negatively associated with a wide range of patient experience including first contact.Material,financial and educational support to primary care facilities,the spread of telemedicine and the application of a patient registration system might be necessary to improve access to primary care during a pandemic.