ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2015
Patient-doctor continuity and diagnosis of cancer: electronic medical records study in general practice.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Exploring the Intensity and Continuity of Hospital Care for Patients With Long Covid: Evidence From an English Urban Healthcare System.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Observational
- What potential cancer symptoms should we consider 'unexplained'?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Continuity of care during long-term care transitions: a scoping review of the Canadian literature.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Learning from new colorectal cancers: a qualitative synthesis of significant event reports.BJGP open · 2024Article
- What would primary care practitioners do differently after a delayed cancer diagnosis? Learning lessons from their experiences.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- People with early-onset colorectal cancer describe primary care barriers to timely diagnosis: a mixed-methods study of web-based patient reports in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Article
- Associations between general practice characteristics and chest X-ray rate: an observational study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2022Observational
- What mechanisms could link GP relational continuity to patient outcomes?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2021Article
- CA125 test result, test-to-diagnosis interval, and stage in ovarian cancer at diagnosis: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2021Article
- Time from presentation to pre-diagnostic chest X-ray in patients with symptomatic lung cancer: a cohort study using electronic patient records from English primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2021Article
- The burden of cancer on primary and secondary health care services before and after cancer diagnosis in New South Wales, Australia.BMC health services research · 2019Article
- Associations between diagnostic activity and measures of patient experience in primary care: a cross-sectional ecological study of English general practices.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Article
- Continuity of Primary Care and Emergency Hospital Admissions Among Older Patients in England.Annals of family medicine · 2017Article
- RCGP Research Paper of the Year 2015: strong messages for clinical care in all six research categories.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Article
- Improving early diagnosis of symptomatic cancer.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2016Review
- Effect of Named, Accountable GPs on Continuity of Care: Protocol for a Regression Discontinuity Study of a National Policy Change.International journal of integrated care · 2016Article
- Continuity of care is very important.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2015Article
- Personal Continuity and Appropriate Prescribing in Primary Care.Annals of family medicineObservational
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundContinuity of care may affect the diagnostic process in cancer but there is little research.
aimTo estimate associations between patient-doctor continuity and time to diagnosis and referral of three common cancers. DESIGN AND
settingRetrospective cohort study in general practices in England.
methodThis study used data from the General Practice Research Database for patients aged ≥40 years with a diagnosis of breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. Relevant cancer symptoms or signs were identified up to 12 months before diagnosis. Patient-doctor continuity (fraction-of-care index adjusted for number of consultations) was calculated up to 24 months before diagnosis. Time ratios (TRs) were estimated using accelerated failure time regression models.
resultsPatient-doctor continuity in the 24 months before diagnosis was associated with a slightly later diagnosis of colorectal (time ratio [TR] 1.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.01 to 1.02) but not breast (TR = 1.00, 0.99 to 1.01) or lung cancer (TR = 1.00, 0.99 to 1.00). Secondary analyses suggested that for colorectal and lung cancer, continuity of doctor before the index consultation was associated with a later diagnosis but continuity after the index consultation was associated with an earlier diagnosis, with no such effects for breast cancer. For all three cancers, most of the delay to diagnosis occurred after referral.
conclusionAny effect for patient-doctor continuity appears to be small. Future studies should compare investigations, referrals, and diagnoses in patients with and without cancer who present with possible cancer symptoms or signs; and focus on 'difficult to diagnose' types of cancer.
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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.