Continuity of care has been defined as a patient repeatedly consulting the same doctor and forming a therapeutic relationship. There is evidence that not only do patients value continuity of the care they receive but also that provider continuity is related to lower overall total healthcare costs and better healthcare outcomes. A retrospective audit was undertaken in James Paget Hospital, a dis...

BACKGROUND Dying at home is the preference of many patients with life-limiting illness. This is often not achieved and a key factor is the availability of willing and able family carers. AIM To elicit family carers' views about the community support that made death at home possible. DESIGN AND SETTING Qualitative study in East Devon, North Lancashire, and Cumbria. METHOD Participants were...

OBJECTIVE  To assess whether continuity of care with a general practitioner is associated with hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions for older patients. DESIGN  Cross sectional study. SETTING  Linked primary and secondary care records from 200 general practices participating in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink in England. PARTICIPANTS  230 472 patients aged b...

BACKGROUND Continuity of care (COC) is a widely accepted core principle of primary care and has been associated with patient satisfaction, healthcare utilization and mortality in many, albeit small, studies. OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between longitudinal continuity with a primary care physician (PCP) and likelihood of death in the French general population. DESIGN Observational s...

BACKGROUND Continuity of care has long been considered a benefit to patients of family physicians, but quantifying these benefits has been problematic. Previous studies focused on patient preferences and relationship issues, whereas evidence regarding clinical endpoints has been lacking. This study reports differences in obstetric and neonatal outcomes related to continuity in prenatal care. ...

Today the most important challenge facing the pediatrician is the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. With this regard, pediatricians play a key role in the management of these conditions. The closeness with the family, the knowledge of the clinical case and the care continuity allow the pediatrician to acquire a position of director of every case. When pathological events have a chronic...

Continuity of care is an important quality outcome of patient care. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between personal continuity and blood pressure (BP) control among the patients with hypertension in an academic primary care centre. Between January and May 2012, we conducted a retrospective review of medical records of patients with hypertension who had been followed up for at ...