The provision and use of general practitioner services in Adelaide, Australia: Application of tools of locational analysis and theories of provider and user spatial behaviour

In cities where a mixed free-enterprise and public supply system operates, the spatial distribution of health care services and access opportunities of potential consumers to services typically fails to satisfy equity criteria. The pattern of distribution and consumer use of general practitioner (GP) services in metropolitan Adelaide, Australia, are examined. Various theories and models are discussed aimed at furnishing explanations of the spatial behaviour of both facility providers and users. These include traditional location theories, theory of demand for semi-public goods, and behavioural models of user choice. A method of spatial analysis at a disaggregated level of scale to investigate the degree of congruence between potential demand for GP services and likely levels of satisfaction from the available supply of GP services in Adelaide is presented and its planning implications discussed.