The golden thread of continuity of care

In this episode we talk to Dr Sally Hull who is a GP and Honorary Reader in Primary Care Development at QMUL.Paper: Measuring continuity of care in general practice: a comparison of two methods using routinely collected datahttps://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2022.0043Longitudinal continuity of care is associated with lower mortality, fewer hospital admissions, better care for chronic disease and greater patient satisfaction. In spite of these benefits few practices measure continuity and measurement is not supported by health policy. Using the UPC we report a strong correlation between patient measures of continuity and practice UPC scores. We illustrate GP continuity across a whole health economy, and demonstrate that patient age and practice size are the strongest predictors. Improving continuity will require incentivisation, and regular measurement to support change.