ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2014
Patients' assessments of the continuity of primary care in Finland: a 15-year follow-up questionnaire survey.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Frequent attenders in primary health care in Finland: use of primary care services and patient characteristics.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Sustaining named GP continuity requires organisational change: a comparative implementation analysis in Finland.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Finnish physicians' attitudes towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: a nationwide cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Quantifying, Understanding and Enhancing Relational Continuity of Care (QUERCC): a mixed-methods protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Primary care for all: lessons for Canada from peer countries with high primary care attachment.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
- Implementation of pharmacotherapy monitoring: Experiences and views of medicine users.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- Trustful conversations: a qualitative interview study on older patients' experiences of the interventionPrimary health care research & development · 2023Article
- Continuity of care for patients with chronic disease: a registry-based observational study from Norway.Family practice · 2022Observational
- Association of personalised care plans with monitoring and control of clinical outcomes, prescription of medication and utilisation of primary care services in patients with type 2 diabetes: an observational real-world study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2022Observational
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundContinuity of care is an essential aspect of quality in general practice. This study is the first systematic follow-up of Finnish primary care patients' assessments with regard to personal continuity of care.
aimTo ascertain whether patient-reported longitudinal personal continuity of care is related to patient characteristics and their consultation experiences, and how this had changed over the study period. DESIGN AND
settingA 15-year follow-up questionnaire survey that took place at Tampere University Hospital catchment area, Finland.
methodThe survey was conducted among patients attending health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area from 1998 until 2013. From a sample of 363 464 patients, a total of 157 549 responded. The responses of patients who had visited a doctor during the survey weeks (n = 97 468) were analysed. Continuity of care was assessed by asking the question: 'When visiting the health centre, do you usually see the same doctor?'; patients could answer 'yes' or 'no'.
resultsApproximately half of the responders had met the same doctor when visiting the healthcare centre. Personal continuity of care decreased by 15 percentage points (from 66% to 51%) during the study years. The sense of continuity was linked to several patients' experiences of the consultation. The most prominent factor contributing to the sense of continuity of care was having a doctor who was specifically appointed (odds ratio 7.28, 95% confidence interval = 6.65 to 7.96).
conclusionContinuity of care was proven to enhance the experienced quality of primary care. Patients felt that continuity of care was best realised when they could consult a doctor who had been specifically appointed to them. Despite efforts of the authorities, over the past 15 years patient-reported continuity of care has declined in Finland.
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