Number of outpatient consultations per person per year (attendance rate or consultation rate)

Calculation: The numerator is defined as the number of visits to health facilities for ambulant care, not including immunization (can be divided into children under five years of age and aged five years and over); The attendance rate is usually calculated annualy. It can be used, nevertheless, to monitor the monthly evolution. In that case, the denominator (target population) should be divided by 12 for keeping the same unit. Interpretation: the patient volumes at outpatient facilities are not a coverage indicator because the population in need is not well defined. Low rates, however, are indicative of poor availability and quality of services. For example, several countries have demonstrated that outpatient department rates go up when constraints to using health services are removed, such as by bringing services closer to the people or reducing user fees. In contrast, once rates exceed a certain threshold the number of visits is no longer an indicator of the strength of the health services.