ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2010
Continuity of care with a primary care physician and mortality in older adults.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Examining nursing processes in primary care settings using the Chronic Care Model: an umbrella review.BMC primary care · 2023Pooled it
- Primary medical care continuity and patient mortality: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Pooled it
- Continuity of care with doctors-a matter of life and death? A systematic review of continuity of care and mortality.BMJ open · 2018Pooled it
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- 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
- Which aspects of continuity of care in primary care are associated with better self-rated health? A cross-sectional study among older adults in Berlin.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Primary care continuity and breast cancer survival: a retrospective cohort study.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2026Article
- Primary Care Use and Clinical Outcomes in a Prevalent Cohort of Patients Receiving Hemodialysis.Kidney medicine · 2026Article
- Continuity of care and risk of vision loss in patients with newly developed macular degeneration.Acta ophthalmologica · 2026Article
- Long-Range Forecasting for Emergency Care Systems in a Highly Dynamic Setting: A Singapore Case Study.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2025Article
- Care Continuity, Nephrologists' Dialysis Facility Preferences, and Outcomes.JAMA health forum · 2025Article
- Article
- Emerging Domains for Measuring Health Care Delivery With Electronic Health Record Metadata.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Association between physician-hospital integration and inpatient care delivery in accountable care organizations: An instrumental variable analysis.Health services research · 2024Article
- Toward a universal definition of provider-patient attachment in primary care.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2024Review
- Emergency department visits as a potential opportunity to promote primary care attachment and modify utilization patterns - results of a pilot study in Berlin, Germany.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- "I do not know the advantages of having a general practitioner" - a qualitative study exploring the views of low-acuity emergency patients without a regular general practitioner toward primary care.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The Relationship Between Continuity of Care and Enhancement of Clinical Outcomes Among Patients with Chronic Conditions.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Physician factors affecting patient preferences in selecting a primary care provider: A qualitative research study in Singapore.PloS one · 2024Article
- Comparison of two GP service provider models in older adults: a register-based follow-up study.BJGP open · 2023Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe examined whether older adults who had continuity of care with a primary care physician (PCP) had lower mortality.
methodsSecondary analyses were conducted using baseline interview data (1993-1994) from the nationally representative Survey on Assets and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD). The analytic sample included 5,457 self-respondents 70 years old or more who were not enrolled in managed care plans. AHEAD data were linked to Medicare claims for 1991-2005, providing up to 12 years of follow-up. Two time-dependent measures of continuity addressed whether there was more than an 8-month interval between any two visits to the same PCP during the prior 2-year period. The "present exposure" measure calculated this criterion on a daily basis and could switch "on" or "off" daily, whereas the "cumulative exposure" measure reflected the percentage of follow-up days, also on a daily basis allowing it to switch on or off daily, for which the criterion was met.
resultsTwo thousand nine hundred and fifty-four (54%) participants died during the follow-up period. Using the cumulative exposure measure, 27% never had continuity of care, whereas 31%, 20%, 14%, and 8%, respectively, had continuity for 1%-33%, 34%-67%, 68%-99%, and 100% of their follow-up days. Adjusted for demographics, socioeconomic status, social support, health lifestyle, and morbidity, both measures of continuity were associated (p < .001) with lower mortality (adjusted hazard ratios of 0.84 for the present exposure measure and 0.31, 0.39, 0.46, and 0.62, respectively, for the 1%-33%, 34%-67%, 68%-99%, and 100% categories of the cumulative exposure measure).
conclusionContinuity of care with a PCP, as assessed by two distinct measures, was associated with substantial reductions in long-term mortality.
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