Although most registered users have a family doctor (88.8%), the ERS recalls that there are “important asymmetries” in the distribution of family doctors at the regional level, with the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the North showing “the highest percentage of users enrolled with a family doctor assigned”.

At the opposite end of the scale are ARS de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (LVT) and ARS Algarve.

The regulator says that this indicator (user with family doctor) showed “a negative variation” in all health regions, with the exception of ARS Norte.

“ARS Norte also has the lowest percentage of users who do not have a family doctor without it being their choice, and this variable is higher in the ARS Algarve”, they add.

In mainland Portugal, the number of users registered with a family doctor has fallen in recent years. In 2017 this figure was 92.7% and last year it was 88.8% (3.9 percentage points less).