ArticleAnnals of family medicine
Continuity of primary care: to whom does it matter and when?
Article in Annals of family medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 137 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
137 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The impact of remote care approaches on continuity in primary care: a mixed-studies systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Pooled it
- The breadth of primary care: a systematic literature review of its core dimensions.BMC health services research · 2010Pooled it
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of Quality Incentive Payments in General Practice (EQuIP-GP) cluster randomized trial: impact on patient-reported experience.Family practice · 2022Trial
- Changes in Dietary Patterns through a Nutritional Intervention with a Traditional Atlantic Diet: The Galiat Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- The Contribution of Patient, Primary Care Physician, and Primary Care Clinic Factors to Good Bone Health Care.The Permanente journal · 2021Trial
- Evaluation of a new person-centered integrated care model in psychiatry.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2015Trial
- Evaluating the integration of chronic disease prevention and management services into primary health care.BMC health services research · 2013Trial
- Continuity of care in the context of a primary health care reform: a follow-up after the SwedishScandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Optimising personal continuity in general practice: process evaluation of a toolkit.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Postpartum Primary Care Engagement and Acute Care Use: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Observational
- Continuity of care and patient-reported experiences in Norwegian general practice: are they linked, and does the measurement of continuity matter?Family practice · 2026Article
- What do patients and clinicians think about interventions which prioritise continuity for certain patients in primary care?BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Continuity of Primary Care in Community Health Centers.Annals of family medicine · 2026Article
- Continuity of Care in Federally Qualified Health Centers: Examining Patient-Provider Relationships and Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM · 2025Article
- Convenience or Continuity: When Are Patients Willing to Wait to See Their Own Doctor?Annals of family medicine · 2025Article
- Satisfaction of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Towards the Provision of Healthcare Services at a Tertiary Care Setting in Saudi Arabia.Clinics and practice · 2024Article
- The relationship between relational continuity and family physician follow-up after an antidepressant prescription in older adults: a retrospective cohort study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Investigating the impact of primary care networks on continuity of care in English general practice: Analysis of interviews with patients and clinicians from a mixed methods study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Article
77 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInconsistent findings on the value of continuity of care can stem from variability in its importance to different subsets of patients. We therefore examined the association among patient and visit characteristics and extent to which the patient valued continuity of care (PVC). We hypothesized that continuity would be more important to patients who are older, sicker, and female, who have established a relationship with their physician, and whose visit addresses more complex problems.
methodsA study of 4,454 consecutive outpatient visits to 138 community-based family physicians used a 3-item measure (alpha = 0.67) of PVC. The patient's report of (1) the adequacy of primary care for the visit and (2) satisfaction with the physician on that visit was assessed with multiple measures. Analyses examined the associations among PVC and patient-reported satisfaction with the physician and adequacy of the visit.
resultsExtremes of age, female sex, less education, Medicare and Medicaid insurance, number of chronic conditions and medications, number of visits to the practice, and worse self-reported health status were associated with higher value placed on continuity (P < .001 for all except sex, where P = .015). Patients who value continuity and did not see a regular physician rated adequacy of the visit lower (for 7 attributes of the visit) than those seeing their own physician. Satisfaction with the physician for the visit was greatest among patients who value continuity and saw their regular physician.
conclusionsContinuity of physician care is associated with more positive assessments of the visit and appears to be particularly important for more vulnerable patients. Health care systems and primary care practices should devote additional effort to maintaining a continuity relationship with these vulnerable patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.