Portugal increases family doctor coverage to 87 percent

Updates to Portugal’s National Patient Register (RNU), which took effect on July 4, have resulted in more than 107,000 additional patients being assigned a family doctor. This administrative cleanup increased overall primary healthcare coverage from 86 percent to 87 percent.

The review process involved removing duplicate records, deceased individuals, and patients who no longer meet the criteria for an assigned doctor. As of August 24, the RNU contained approximately 19.3 million records, while 10,807,867 people were registered with primary healthcare services. Of those eligible, 9,234,694 have been assigned a doctor, leaving 1,364,561 without one.

While the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS) described the update as a necessary measure, Nuno Jacinto, President of the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine (APMGF), cautioned that the change does not solve the underlying shortage of doctors. He noted that despite the improved figures, over one million patients are expected to remain without a family doctor.