Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Correlation between patients’ reasons for encounters/health problems and population density in Japan: a systematic review of observational studies coded by the International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care (ICHPPC) and the International Classification of Primary care (ICPC)

Authors: Makoto Kaneko, Ryuichi Ohta, Naoki Nago, Motoharu Fukushi, Masato Matsushima

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The Japanese health care system has yet to establish structured training for primary care physicians; therefore, physicians who received an internal medicine based training program continue to play a principal role in the primary care setting. To promote the development of a more efficient primary health care system, the assessment of its current status in regard to the spectrum of patients’ reasons for encounters (RFEs) and health problems is an important step. Recognizing the proportions of patients’ RFEs and health problems, which are not generally covered by an internist, can provide valuable information to promote the development of a primary care physician-centered system.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review in which we searched six databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Ichushi-Web, JDreamIII and CiNii) for observational studies in Japan coded by International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care (ICHPPC) and International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) up to March 2015.
We employed population density as index of accessibility. We calculated Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to examine the correlation between the proportion of “non-internal medicine-related” RFEs and health problems in each study area in consideration of the population density.

Results

We found 17 studies with diverse designs and settings. Among these studies, “non-internal medicine-related” RFEs, which was not thought to be covered by internists, ranged from about 4% to 40%. In addition, “non-internal medicine-related” health problems ranged from about 10% to 40%. However, no significant correlation was found between population density and the proportion of “non-internal medicine-related” RFEs and health problems.

Conclusions

This is the first systematic review on RFEs and health problems coded by ICHPPC and ICPC undertaken to reveal the diversity of health problems in Japanese primary care. These results suggest that primary care physicians in some rural areas of Japan need to be able to deal with “non-internal-medicine-related” RFEs and health problems, and that curriculum including practical non-internal medicine-related training is likely to be important.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
2.
3.
Kusaba T. Comprehensiveness and education about common disease in outpatient care of primary care clinics. In: Yokobayashi K, editor. Recommendations: common disease in Japan generalist teachers consortium. Tokyo: Kai-shorin; 2013. p. 104–11. (in Japanese).
4.
Miyazaki K. In: Yokobayashi K, editor. Common disease in adult patients. Tokyo: Kai-shorin: Recommendations: Common Disease in Japan Generalist Teachers Consortium; 2013. p. 88–97. (in Japanese).
5.
6.
Lamberts H, Wood M, Hofmans-Okkes IM. International primary care classifications: the effect of fifteen years of evolution. Fam Pract. 1992;9:330–9.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Soler JK, Okkes I, Wood M, Lamberts H. The coming of age of ICPC: celebrating the 21st birthday of the international classification of primary care. Fam Pract. 2008;25:312–7.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG. And the PRISMA group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151(4):264–9.CrossRefPubMed
9.
10.
11.
12.
Mark F Guagliardo. Spatial accessibility of primary care: concepts, methods and challenges. International journal of health geographics. 2004; 3:3.
13.
Bruce Minore, Mary Ellen Hill, Irene Pugliese and Tara Gauld. Rurality literature review. Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research, 2008. [cited 2017 Feb 23]. Available from: file:///C:/Users/makoto/Downloads/CRaNHR_NWLHIN_Rurality_FINAL_%20Feb.%2001,2008.pdf.
14.
15.
16.
Miyahara S. Studies of common disease in rural districts. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 1984;7:217–28. (in Japanese).
17.
Toguchi T, Kimura H, Ueda F. Study about WHO-ICPC. Journal of Health and Welfare Statistics. 1985;32:16–23. (in Japanese).
18.
Taketazu F, Ejiri T, Satoh T, Nagamatsu Y, Maezawa M. An analysis of patients of a clinic in a rural area in Japan-by using ICPHPPC-2-defined. Jichi Medical School Journal. 1995;8:157–64. (in Japanese).
19.
K. Narato. What is common disease? The Japanese Journal of Family Medicine. 1988;4:339–44. (in Japanese).
20.
T. Yamada. Medical aspects of elderly people in a mountain village. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 1990;13:290–6. (in Japanese).
21.
A. Ochi. Common disease in the Minami-Daito Islands. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 1991;14:178–83. (in Japanese).
22.
R. Kawamoto. Medical considerations for elderly people in rural areas. Ehime Medical Journal. 1992;11:39–45. (in Japanese).
23.
Shiraishi Y, Kayaba K, Tsuruda K, Satho T, Hirata K, Kogure K, et al. Health problems treated by primary care physicians. Japanese Journal of Public Health. 1992;39:848–57. (in Japanese).PubMed
24.
H. Shigemoto. Ambulatory medicine – An analysis based on the International Classification of Primary Care. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 1994;17:148–57. (in Japanese).
25.
R. Kawamoto. Health problems of elderly patients in a rural area. Japanese Journal of Geriatrics. 1994;31:38–44. (in Japanese).
26.
Kunori T, Mori A. An analysis of health problems in Hokkaido prefectural clinic based on the international classification of primary care. Community Medicine. 1994;8:65–70. (in Japanese).
27.
Yamada T, Mise J, Waza K, Igarashi M, Shigemot H. Application of ICPC to computer-based patient records. Japan Journal of Medical Informatics. 1997;17:209–15. (in Japanese).
28.
Waza K, Imai K, Onishi Y, Mise J, Igarashi M. A study on the reasons for encounters at the university hospital’s affiliated community-oriented primary care clinic using ICPC. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 2001;21:182–90. (in Japanese).
29.
Yamada T, Yoshimura M, Nago N, Asai Y, Koga Y, Inoue Y, et al. What is common disease and common health problem – the use of ICPC in a community-based project. Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 2000;23:80–9. (in Japanese).
30.
Yamada T, Yoshimura M, Nago N, Inoue Y, Asai Y, Koga Y, et al. A study on the outcomes of health problems (the concept of “episode of care”) based on clinical statistics using the international classification of primary care (ICPC). Japanese Journal of Primary Care. 2000;23:213–23.
31.
Y. Morita, S. Kuroki, Alan Lefor, E. Kajii. Analysis of the reasons for visits to a clinic on an isolated island. General Medicine. 2012;13:30–6.
32.
Kisa K, Kawabata H, Terashita T, Nakamura T, Maezawa M. Medical reimbursement receipt analysis to determine the relationship between disease type and patients' healthcare-seeking behavior. General Medicine. 2012;13:77–84.CrossRef
33.
Soler JK, Okkes I, Oskam S, van Boven K, Zivotic P, Jevtic M, et al. An international comparative family medicine study of the transition project data from the Netherlands, Malta and Serbia. Is family medicine an international discipline? Comparing diagnostic odds ratios across populations. Fam Pract. 2012;29:299–314.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Thiru K. Alan Hassey, and frank Sullivan. Systematic review of scope and quality of electronic patient record data in primary care BMJ. 2003;326(7398):1070.PubMed
35.
Yamamoto K, Hiraide A, Tomita N, Negoro S, Ito A, Kasahara A, et al. Experience of clinical practice during the student era at Osaka University medical school. Med Educ. 2000;31:17–21. (in Japanese).
36.
Takeshima T, Kumada M, Mise J, Ishikawa Y, Yoshizawa H, Nakmura T, et al. Reasons for encounter and diagnosis of new patients at a small community hospital in Japan: an observational study. Int J Gen Med. 2014;7:259–69.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Tsukamoto T, Ohira Y, Noda K, Takada T, Uehara T, Ikusaka M. Investigation of diseases that cause diagnostic difficulty for Japanese general physicians. Asia Pacific Family Medicine. 2014;13:9.CrossRef
38.
Yamada M, Ishii K, Oda Y, Emura S, Koizumi S. The role of COOP/WONCA charts in predicting psychological distress in patients with medically unexplained symptoms and doctor-shopping behavior. General Medicine. 2006;7:9–14.CrossRef
39.
Metadata
Title
Correlation between patients’ reasons for encounters/health problems and population density in Japan: a systematic review of observational studies coded by the International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care (ICHPPC) and the International Classification of Primary care (ICPC)
Authors
Makoto Kaneko
Ryuichi Ohta
Naoki Nago
Motoharu Fukushi
Masato Matsushima
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-017-0658-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Primary Care 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Are interventions to increase the uptake of screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors effective? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Research article

An after hours gp clinic in regional Australia: appropriateness of presentations and impact on local emergency department presentations

Research article

General practitioners’ perspectives on a proposed new model of service delivery for primary care management of knee osteoarthritis: a qualitative study

Research article

Primary care physician referral patterns in Ontario, Canada: a descriptive analysis of self-reported referral data

Research article

Developing a community-based psycho-social intervention with older people and third sector workers for anxiety and depression: a qualitative study

Research article

Using self-reported data on the social determinants of health in primary care to identify cancer screening disparities: opportunities and challenges