Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study, inequalities between general physicians’ and specialists’ visits in Shiraz. Also, the factors effecting the utilization of visits were determined. Design/methodology/approach – Concentration index and curves, ranked by income and quality of life were used to estimate the amount of inequality in the utilization of services. Health utilization data which had been gathered already were used for this purpose. Poisson regression was used to construct the models. Findings – Results of the study showed that, inequalities in specialists’ visits were higher than GPs’. Complementary insurances users and females used more specialist services. People with higher quality of life utilized fewer GPs’ and specialists’ services. Originality/value – New evidences about inequality in health services utilization and its components in Iran was surveyed. © 2015, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.