ArticleAnnals of family medicine2017
Continuity of Primary Care and Emergency Hospital Admissions Among Older Patients in England.
Article in Annals of family medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 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.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Personal GP continuity improves healthcare outcomes in primary care populations: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Pooled it
- Challenges in Help-Seeking Behaviors among Rural Older People Mitigated through Family Physician-Driven Outreach: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Continuity of Cancer Care and Collaboration Between Family Physicians and Oncologists: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial.Annals of family medicineTrial
- Continuity of care in UK primary care: a scoping review of measures, challenges, and future interventions.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- Timeliness, continuity or travel time: results of a choice-based analysis exploring public preferences for access to primary care in Canada.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Continuity of primary care and end-of-life care costs in dementia: a retrospective cohort study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Jess's Rule: advocating for continuity, ownership, and generalism in general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Quantifying, Understanding and Enhancing Relational Continuity of Care (QUERCC): a mixed-methods protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Continuity and locum use for acute consultations: observational study of subsequent workload.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Observational
- Impact of Comprehensive Primary Care in Patients With Complex Chronic Diseases: Nationwide Cohort Database Analysis in Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2024Article
- Continuity and breaches in GP care and their associations with mortality for patients with chronic disease: an observational study using Norwegian registry data.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Observational
- Patient Experience With Resident Versus Staff Physicians: Results From a Cross-Sectional Patient Survey From Canadian Family Medicine Residencies.Family medicine · 2024Article
- The Relationship Between Continuity of Care and Enhancement of Clinical Outcomes Among Patients with Chronic Conditions.Patient preference and adherence · 2024Article
- Continuity of care and mortality for patients with chronic disease: an observational study using Norwegian registry data.Family practice · 2023Observational
- Article
- 'Frailty as an adjective rather than a diagnosis'-identification of frailty in primary care: a qualitative interview study.Age and ageing · 2023Article
- Burden and patient characteristics associated with repeat consultation for unscheduled care within 30 days in primary care: a retrospective case control study with implications for aging and public health.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Physician- versus practice-level primary care continuity and association with outcomes in Medicare beneficiaries.Health services research · 2022Article
- Continuity of care for patients with chronic disease: a registry-based observational study from Norway.Family practice · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeSecondary health care services have been under considerable pressure in England as attendance rates increase, resulting in longer waiting times and greater demands on staff. This study's aim was to examine the association between continuity of care and risk of emergency hospital admission among older adults.
methodsWe analyzed records from 10,000 patients aged 65 years and older in 2012 within 297 English general practices obtained from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked with Hospital Episode Statistics. We used the Bice and Boxerman (BB) index and the appointed general practitioner index (last general practitioner consulted before hospitalization) to quantify patient-physician continuity. The BB index was used in a prospective cohort approach to assess impact of continuity on risk of admission. Both indices were used in a separate retrospective nested case-control approach to test the effect of changing physician on the odds of hospital admission in the following 30 days.
resultsIn the prospective cohort analysis, the BB index showed a graded, non-significant inverse relationship of continuity of care with risk of emergency hospital admission, although the hazard ratio for patients experiencing least continuity was 2.27 (95% CI, 1.37-3.76) compared with those having complete continuity. In the retrospective nested case-control analysis, we found a graded inverse relationship between continuity of care and emergency hospital admission for both BB and appointed general practitioner indices: for the latter, the odds ratio for those experiencing least continuity was 2.32 (95% CI, 1.48-3.63) relative to those experiencing most continuity.
conclusionsMarked discontinuity of care might contribute to increased unplanned hospital admissions among patients aged 65 years and older. Schemes to enhance continuity of care have the potential to reduce hospital admissions.
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