ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2012
Do English patients want continuity of care, and do they receive it?
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What patients want from access to UK general practice: systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of continuity of care on health outcomes among patients with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension: a systematic review.BMC family practice · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Less continuity with more complaints: a repeated cross-sectional study of the association between relational continuity of care and patient complaints in English general practice.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Article
- Continuity of care for all? Associations between migration background and personal continuity among persons aged 50 and older in Dutch primary care: a registry-based observational study.Family practice · 2025Observational
- Patient perceptions of relational continuity in England: insights from two cross-sectional surveys.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Complexity, demand, and those little white spots.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Article
- Importance of continuity of care from a patient perspective - a cross-sectional study in Swedish health care.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- 'Learning by doing', a model for improving the promotion of healthy lifestyles by student nurses.BMC nursing · 2023Article
- Continuity of care in diverse ethnic groups: a general practice record study in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Article
- Continuity of care among diabetic patients in Accra, Ghana.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Primary Healthcare Nurses' Views on Digital Healthcare Communication and Continuity of Care: A Deductive and Inductive Content Analysis.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2022Article
- Personal continuity of GP care and outpatient specialist visits in people with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional survey.PloS one · 2022Article
- Sociodemographic inequalities in patients' experiences of primary care: an analysis of the General Practice Patient Survey in England between 2011 and 2017.Journal of health services research & policy · 2021Article
- Characteristics of patients who access zero, one or multiple general practices and reasons for their choices: a study in regional Australia.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Changes in patient experience associated with growth and collaboration in general practice: observational study using data from the UK GP Patient Survey.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Observational
- Private Video Consultation Services and the Future of Primary Care.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Influence of doctor-patient conversations on behaviours of patients presenting to primary care with new or persistent symptoms: a video observation study.BMJ quality & safety · 2020Observational
- Relational continuity of oral health care in Indigenous communities: a qualitative study.BMC oral health · 2019Article
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7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInterpersonal continuity of care is valued by patients, but there is concern that it has declined in recent years.
aimTo determine how often patients express preference for seeing a particular GP and the extent to which that preference is met. DESIGN OF STUDY: Analysis of data from the 2009/2010 English GP Patient Survey.
settingA stratified random sample of adult patients registered with 8362 general practices in England (response rate 39%, yielding 2,169,718 responses).
methodWeighted estimates were calculated of preference for and success in seeing a particular GP. Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify characteristics associated with these two outcomes.
resultsExcluding practices with one GP, 62% of patients expressed a preference for seeing a particular GP. Of these patients, 72% were successful in seeing their preferred GP most of the time. Certain patient groups were associated with more preference for and success in seeing a particular GP. These were older patients (preference odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, success OR = 1.8), those with chronic medical conditions (preference OR = 1.9, success OR = 1.3), those with chronic psychological conditions (preference OR = 1.6, success OR = 1.3), and those recently requesting only non-urgent versus urgent appointments (preference OR = 1.4, success OR = 1.6). Patient groups that had more frequent preference but less success in seeing a preferred GP were females (preference OR = 1.5, success OR = 0.9), patients in larger practices (preference OR = 1.3, success OR = 0.5), and those belonging to non-white ethnic groups.
conclusionThe majority of patients value interpersonal continuity, yet a large minority of patients and specific patient groups are not regularly able to see the GP they prefer.
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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.