training

Year family medicine established: 1979 (Dedeu et al., 2015)

Type of Training: Official training programmes (OTPs) were established in 2005 and is 4 years for family medicine (Dedeu et al., 2015)

Length of Training: medical school is six years, followed by a four year training programme  

Number of institutions that offer family medicine: 29 universities offer family medicine training (Brekke et al., 2013)

Number of family medicine residents graduating each year: unknown

practice

Number of family doctors in country (2016): 34 741 family physicians (Eurostat, 2016)

Physician to population ratio: 85 family physicians per 100,000 people (Dedeu et al., 2015).

DALY: 11,352 per 100,000 individuals (Due to all Causes).

Life Expectancy:

• Females 2017: 86.3 years

• Males 2017: 80.5 years

Mortality rate 2017:

• 2016 Males: 75 per 1,000 male adults.

• 2016 Females: 38 per 1,000 female adults.

Infant Immunization-HepB3: % of 1-year-old children received: 94%.

College of Family Physicians (Y or N):

• Yes. Sociedades de Medicina de Familia y Communitaria.

training

In Spain pupils can apply for medical school by writing an entrance examination. Medical school lasts six years, and is largely didactic in the first two years, with clinical experience introduced in the third to sixth years (Mellado, 1993). After completing this, there is an OTP for four years to train in family and community medicine (Freire et al., 2015). There are 29 Universities that offer family medicine training in Spain (Brekke et al., 2013). In terms of quality of Care and access to care, 88% said that they experienced easily accessible care, 90% of respondents considered quality of GP care to be good. Students also must pass a national admissions exam (MIR) before enrolling in medical school. This is followed by a four year residency program.

practice

Gatekeeping is practiced in Spain, although there are few referrals, as family doctors have a wide range of authority, and can order imaging and laboratory tests (Freire et al., 2015). Primary care in Spain includes health promotion, diagnoses, prevention, and chronic care. (Freire et al.).

Continuity of care is prioritized, and many patients will always been seen by the same nurses and doctor, resulting in high patient satisfaction (Freire et al., 2015).