Primary Care Health Houses: a new balance between continuity, accessibility of care and health professionals working conditions?

This evaluation explore empirically, the concept of Multidisciplinary Health Houses, considered as a solution to maintain GP's in remote areas and simultaneously to improve quality of care. Our sample concern 9 health Houses, 71 health professionals of which 32 GP's in two regions. We mixed data collected by questionnaire, visits and interviews. Professional activity and consumptions of care by patients were assessed with claims data from national sickness fund database. Comparison was made with professionals and patients of local zones for each Health Houses. Beyond heterogeneity of health houses in terms of location, size, number of professionals involved, we found a higher level of equipment than average practices, larger access in the day, the week and the year and many informal collaboration. With the same medical activity, doctors declare to have longer holidays. Different level of collaboration can be identified according to the level of substitution between them to their patients. To conclude, Multidisciplinary Health Houses enable GP's to find new balance between work and leisure time and offers larger time accessibility to patients.