As Ireland pulls out of recession, people are starting to visit their GP more often, new data has shown.

According to the 2015 Pfizer Health Index, during the recession, there was a decline in people visiting their GPs for check-ups or if they felt unwell, however this has started to change.

Some 43% of people claim to have visited their GP in the last three months for a check-up compared with 38% in 2014. Furthermore, 31% have visited their GP this year because they are feeling unwell compared with 26% last year.

Another major feature of the recession was the move away from private health insurance, according to the index. The proportion of people with private insurance fell from 44% in 2010 to 33% in 2014. However this year, 36% claim to have health insurance, the first increase recorded in the last few years.

The data also reveals that this year, 43% of people have medical cards, but 25% of people overall have neither a medical card or private health insurance.

"While we are now seeing an increase in the numbers of people with private medical insurance, and more people are becoming eligible for free GP care, there is still 25% of our population who pay the full cost of primary care and have access only to public hospital services," commented Prof Charles Normand of Trinity College Dublin at the launch of the index.

The data did reveal however that the majority of people feel positive when it comes to their personal health. In 2005, 61% of people scored their health eight out of 10 and this year, this figure has increased to 65%.

However, the number of people living with a health condition has increased from 33% in 2005 to 38% in 2015.

Meanwhile, the index shows an increasing use of technology among people when it comes to their health. At least one in five (22%) said that they have used a self-monitoring app, such as an exercise or calorie counting app. Among these, over half said that the app has helped them to live more healthily.

However, 44% of people who used Google to get information on a health condition admitted that they became more worried as a result of the information they found, while 15% said they incorrectly self-diagnosed a condition based on information they found online.

The 2015 Pfizer Health Index was based on a survey of 1,004 people aged 16 and older, at 63 randomly selected locations in April. The index has been run for the last 10 years.