Observational studyThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2022
Continuity in general practice as predictor of mortality, acute hospitalisation, and use of out-of-hours care: a registry-based observational study in Norway.
Observational study in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 201 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
201 citing papers in PubMed, 3 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
- Midwife continuity of care models versus other models of care for childbearing women.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of relational continuity of primary care in aged care: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of collaborative care on recognition and management of common mental disorders by general practitioners: a cluster-randomised trial in Norway.BMC primary care · 2026Trial
- A collaborative primary and mental health care model with psychologist and psychiatrist working in GP practices: process evaluation of the implementation, challenges, and sustainability.BMC health services research · 2025Trial
- Inappropriate vitamin D supplementation among multimorbid older patients: a multicountry analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2025Trial
- Effect of an educational intervention for telephone triage nurses on out-of-hours attendance: a pragmatic randomized controlled study.BMC health services research · 2023Trial
- Understaffing and overprescribing: a register study on the role of locum physicians in antibiotic prescribing patterns in primary care in Northern Sweden.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Continuity in a fragmented healthcare system: - organizational and individual determinants.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Trends in acute specialist contacts following a primary care contact 2012-21-a registry-based study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Misaligned by design: evaluating and deploying generative AI for the real-world conditions of primary care: a Nordic and European perspective.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Motivations and challenges experienced among locums working in Norwegian rural general practice: a reflexive thematic analysis.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Strengthening Primary Health Care in Europe: A Delphi study towards accessibility, equity and continuity of care.The European journal of general practice · 2026Article
- Burnout prevalence in 2012, 2018 and 2024 among general practitioners in Norway and factors associated with burnout.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- 'We can go hand in hand' - patients with COPD and their experiences of relational continuity of care in Swedish primary care: a qualitative study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- GP turnover in a multiprofessional team-based primary care system: evidence from Sweden.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Observational
- 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
- Continuity of care measurement across health systems: UK and US insights for global primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Continuity of care and the Buxton Index.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- [A primary care system in Germany: evidence, opportunities, and implementation].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Review
141 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundContinuity, usually considered a quality aspect of primary care, is under pressure in Norway, and elsewhere.
aimTo analyse the association between longitudinal continuity with a named regular general practitioner (RGP) and use of out-of-hours (OOH) services, acute hospital admission, and mortality. DESIGN AND
settingRegistry-based observational study in Norway covering 4 552 978 Norwegians listed with their RGPs.
methodDuration of RGP-patient relationship was used as explanatory variable for the use of OOH services, acute hospital admission, and mortality in 2018. Several patient-related and RGP-related covariates were included in the analyses by individual linking to high-quality national registries. Duration of RGP-patient relationship was categorised as 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-10, 11-15, or >15 years. Results are given as adjusted odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) resulting from multilevel logistic regression analyses.
resultsCompared with a 1-year RGP-patient relationship, the OR for use of OOH services decreased gradually from 0.87 (95% CI = 0.86 to 0.88) after 2-3 years' duration to 0.70 (95% CI = 0.69 to 0.71) after >15 years. OR for acute hospital admission decreased gradually from 0.88 (95% CI = 0.86 to 0.90) after 2-3 years' duration to 0.72 (95% CI = 0.70 to 0.73) after >15 years. OR for dying decreased gradually from 0.92 (95% CI = 0.86 to 0.98) after 2-3 years' duration, to 0.75 (95% CI = 0.70 to 0.80) after an RGP-patient relationship of >15 years.
conclusionLength of RGP-patient relationship is significantly associated with lower use of OOH services, fewer acute hospital admissions, and lower mortality. The presence of a dose-response relationship between continuity and these outcomes indicates that the associations are causal.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.