CIS - Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

• 83% positively value the care received at the primary care level
• 43% consulted a specialist in the last year and 10% had to be admitted to a public hospital.
• 40% have access to their digital medical records, and 60% know they can pick up medications at any pharmacy in the country with an electronic prescription from the National Health System.
• 18.2% of the people interviewed needed care for a mental health problem.
• The degree of agreement with the protective aspects of vaccines reaches 90%.

Nearly 80% of the population aged 18 and over uses primary care services, and 83.1% of these individuals positively rate the care received, according to the Global Health Barometer conducted by the CIS in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. In turn, 43.4% had seen a specialist in the past year, and 81.8% positively rate the care received. Ten percent reported at least one admission to a public hospital in the past year, and 87.9% of patients positively rate the way they were treated.

Improvements have been seen in digital health and the use of various online services, as 40.1% of respondents reported having accessed their electronic medical records online at some point; 44.4% are aware that doctors can consult their medical information in a different autonomous community; and 60% are aware that they can pick up medications at any pharmacy in the country with an electronic prescription.

The level of satisfaction with the Spanish public healthcare system (whether or not it has been used) remained stable in 2024, with a score of 6.28 out of 10, and citizens continued to show a clear preference for public centers in the four healthcare areas analyzed. This assessment consolidates the trend observed in 2023 and confirms the stabilization of public opinion on the National Health System after the decline recorded in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (6.74).

The 2024 Health Barometer reveals that emergency services, both 061 and 112, along with admissions and care in public hospitals, are the most highly rated by the population, with scores of 7.43 and 7.16 out of 10, respectively.

Regarding primary care, the rating of consultations with family doctors in health centers reaches 6.29 points, while primary care emergency services obtain 6.34 points.

Overall, 55% of the population has a positive opinion of the functioning of the Spanish healthcare system, compared to 15.6% who believe it needs profound changes. Regarding the waiting list situation, 47.4% believe it has remained the same, 35.6% believe it has worsened, and 8.3% believe it has improved.

User evaluation

Eighty percent of Spanish adults used primary care services last year, and the vast majority (83.1%) positively rated the care they received, highlighting the trust and security the professionals instilled. Regarding wait times, 22.3% of patients were seen on the same day or the day after their appointment; for the rest, the average wait was 8.7 days.

In the last year, 43.4% of those surveyed visited a specialist, and 81.8% rated the care they received positively, reflecting the trust and security the doctors instilled and the information they received about their health problem. Of these, 38.3% had been referred by their primary care physician, and 38% had to wait three months or more to see a specialist.

Ten percent reported at least one admission to a public hospital in the past year. 87.9% of patients rated the care they received positively. The most highly rated aspects were the care provided by medical and nursing professionals.

The National Health System's emergency services are rated positively by 75.2% of those who used them in the last year. Primary care emergency services handled 39.2% of the demand during this period, and hospital emergency services handled 54%.

According to data from the 2024 Health Barometer, 18.2% of people needed a consultation for a mental health problem; half were treated in public healthcare, with a positive assessment from 80.4%, and the other half in private healthcare.

Public centers

The Health Barometer reveals a clear preference among Spaniards for public healthcare. Given the choice, the majority would opt for public centers at all levels of care: primary care, specialized care, hospitalization, and emergency services.

This preference remains at similar levels to previous years, with 69.9% of the population choosing a public center for primary care and 56.9% for specialist consultations. However, the increase in preference for public healthcare for hospital admissions and emergencies since the pandemic is notable: preference for public healthcare for hospital admissions has increased from 69.8% in 2019 to 76.1% in 2024, while for emergencies it has risen from 66.9% in 2019 to 72.5% in 2024.

Despite this clear general preference for public healthcare, specialist consultations are the area where private healthcare is most widely accepted, with 40.1% of the population choosing this option.

Coordination and accessibility

45.1% of the population has a positive assessment of the coordination between primary care and hospital services involved in their care.

The degree of agreement with the protective aspects of vaccines is very high, both for the person being vaccinated (90.2%) and for the people they live with (90.4%). However, 37% believe they can cause adverse health effects.

40.1% of those interviewed reported having accessed their electronic medical records online at some point; 44.4% were aware that doctors in a different autonomous community could access their medical information; and 60% were aware that they could pick up medications at any pharmacy in the country with an electronic prescription.

Equity in public health

This edition of the barometer explores the public's perception of equal treatment in the healthcare system, revisiting a question previously asked in 2016 and 2019.

Socioeconomic status, country of origin, age, and legal status in Spain are the aspects where greater equality is perceived in the provision of services, and they are not identified as reasons for inequity.

On the other hand, 38.7% of the population perceives that patients are treated unequally depending on their autonomous community of residence, and 35.5% also believe that each person's handling of new technologies can influence inequalities in the treatment received by the healthcare system.

Coverage

Ninety-nine percent of those interviewed reported having their healthcare covered through public funding. This percentage includes those enrolled in the NHS and those who report belonging to civil servant mutual funds, both those whose service provider is the NHS and those who report having a private provider, given that, in all cases, their funding is supported by public funds.

23.2% report having private health insurance purchased individually (by themselves or a family member) and 9.4% purchased through their employer. There has been an increase in the number of people reporting having private insurance in recent years.

These and other data can be found on the CIS website (www.cis.es).

Press release