Objectives:

COVID-19 is the first severe pandemic of the modern world, having already collapsed several health systems, forcing them to adapt. This article intends to review the medical activity in a primary care unit during the first pandemic outbreak to assess its impact on the population.

Methods:

Retrospective study. Data were retrieved from all medical appointments carried out in a primary care unit between 1 March and 31 July 2020 and in the same period of 2019 and 2018.

Results:

There was an increase in the number of medical appointments in 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 and 2018 (14,871, 14,326, and 12,996, respectively), the majority being teleconsultations by e-mail or phone in contrast to previous years (71.6% in 2020, 42.6% in 2019 and 35.2% in 2018). There was also a decrease in most follow-up and routine appointments (2,562 in 2020, 3,067 in 2019, and 2,975 in 2018) and an increment in psychiatric diagnosis, mainly anxiety-related disorders (362 in 2020, 252 in 2019, and 238 in 2018).

Conclusions:

Despite the pandemic, the total number of medical appointments increased in 2020, mostly due to teleconsultations and with a different prevalence of diagnostics. There were fewer follow-up and routine appointments but more diagnoses of psychiatric disorders, probably related to the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. This is the first case series of primary care activity recorded during the first pandemic outbreak in Portugal.

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