The care pressure in Primary Care has been transformed into a structural phenomenon due to the sustained increase in health problems that the population faces. These have risen by 37.7% in the last decade, reaching 429.4 million in 2024, while the average number of problems per person has gone from 8.3 to 9.8, according to the report "Feeling unwell. Health problems as the origin of demand in Primary Care 2016-2025".
The study, prepared by Enclave Salud within the framework of the Venturi Project and with the collaboration of the Círculo de la Sanidad, details that the number of people with some health problem has gone from 37.4 million in 2016 to 43.8 million in 2024, which amounts to more than six million additional people in that period.
The document links this evolution to factors such as the aging of the population, the increase in chronicity, and the growth of social problems and needs that are addressed in Primary Care consultations, including economic and housing difficulties, unemployment, and various situations of violence.
In particular, these social needs have increased by 130.8% since 2016, far above the rest of the health problems, according to the report, which highlights that this type of demand cannot be addressed only from a clinical perspective.
Primary Care is thus configured as the care level that provides a response to an extraordinarily broad range of health needs. The analysis shows its role in the main groups of problems that affect citizens and confirms that care pressure does not stem from a single disease, nor from a single age group, nor from a specific clinical area.
At the same time, aging and chronicity are identified as key determinants of this trend, although the report specifies that they are not enough on their own to explain the pattern observed. In this sense, the study notes that "the challenge for Primary Care is not only to have more capacity to handle more activity. It requires understanding how demand is changing and using that information to decide which needs must be addressed, by whom, where, through what modality, and with what degree of coordination or referral".
Reviewing demand to transform the model
In this scenario, the report defends the appropriateness of analyzing in depth the demand that supports Primary Care before making decisions about reinforcing its capacities and resources. The objective is to articulate differentiated and tailored responses to patients’ needs, while ensuring efficient use of the available resources.
The director of the Venturi Project, Antonio Burgueño Jerez, has pointed out that the challenge “does not consist solely in having more capacity to handle more activity,” but requires understanding how demand is changing and determining what needs must be addressed, by whom, where, and through what modality, as well as the degree of coordination or referral required.
The document concludes that the growing heterogeneity and complexity of the problems that reach consultations compels progress toward management models capable of offering sustainable responses to the different needs of the population.