Background: Changes in the demand behavior for primary care during the covid-19 pandemic may translate into changes in the overall public health situation in Iran with the increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the primary health care utilization and cost in Fars province of Iran.
Methods: Monthly utilization and cost of primary health care was extracted from the data base of Fars province branch of Iran Health Insurance Organization (IHIO) in Iran. The interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was used to investigate the short-term and long-term effects of Covid-19 on the utilization and cost of primary health care.
Results: The mean difference test showed that the monthly utilization and cost of primary health care after Covid-19 has decreased significantly (64307 for utilization and 11581 US dollars for cost). The ITSA estimates showed that the number of monthly primary health care visits after Covid-19 has decreased significantly by 53,003 in the short term and 2,330 in the long term. Moreover, the cost of primary health care shows a significant decrease of $24,722 and $3,822 per month in the short term and in the long term, respectively.
Conclusion: It found a significant reduction in the utilization of primary health care. Considering the role of primary care in controlling the burden of chronic diseases, planning for active follow-up of patients with chronic conditions should be on the agenda.