SUMMARY

Continuity of care is critical to achieving the best outcomes, especially for

patients with chronic conditions. The American Academy of Family Physicians defines
continuity of care as “the process by which the patient and his/her physician-led care
team are cooperatively involved in ongoing health care management toward the shared
goal of high-quality, cost-effective medical care.” Taking the next steps toward a
comprehensive system of patient- and population-centered care for proactive
management of patients with chronic conditions has much potential to further enhance
outcomes and reduce costs. This study assess the indices of continuity of care in the
primary care setting and their association with health outcomes and healthcare
services utilization, given the reported importance of continuity regarding quality of
care and healthcare utilization. A patient-caretaker relationship in which a high level of
continuity of care exists is characterized by improved patient-physician relations,
including trust-building, mutual understanding, effective communications, a sense of
responsibility over time and better quality of care, including better identification of
issues and diagnostic accuracy. Continuity of care has also been associated with
better management of patients with chronic conditions and maternity care outcomes,
higher rates of compliance to medications, performance of screening tests, receipt of
preventive medicine services and follow-up visits, and a reduction in hospitalizations,
repeat hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, and duration of
hospitalizations.

REACTION

during our last week of duty at JRB General Hospital, I was assigned to the same
patient that I had last week. While taking care of her, I realized how important continuity
of care is.

REFERENCE

Dreiher, J., Comaneshter, D.S., Rosenbluth, Y. et al. The association between

continuity of care in the community and health outcomes: a population-based study. Isr
J Health Policy Res 1, 21 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-4015-1-21

Dreiher, J., Comaneshter, D. S., Rosenbluth, Y., Battat, E., Bitterman, H., & Cohen,
A. D. (2012). The association between continuity of care in the community and health
outcomes: a population-based study. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research, 1(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-4015-1-21