Continuity of care
Relational continuity of care is the extent to which patients see the same clinicians over time. It is a core feature of general practice. It is linked to trust in the doctor, patient satisfaction and better health outcomes. especially for older patients, those with long-term conditions and the vulnerable. Relational continuity has been declining for many years. Contributing factors are thought to include growth in practice size, more part-time working, greater staff and patient turnover. It may also be because practice policies have focused on access, rather than continuity. The NIHR-funded research project, Quantifying, Understanding & Enhancing Relational Continuity of Care (QUERCC) is investigating continuity of care in primary care.
Theme lead
Professor Tom Marshall
Professor of Public Health and Primary Care
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Aims
Aims
- To understand how best to measure relational continuity of care in primary care.
- To investigate the contribution of practice characteristics to relational continuity of care. These include staff turnover, part-time working, practice size and practice funding per patient.
- To identify general practices which maintain high levels of relational continuity of care and understand how they do so.
- To estimate the effects of changes in relational continuity of care on health care use, such as unplanned hospital admissions.
- To develop practical guidance on how to improve continuity of care.
Meet the team
Meet the team
- Professor Tom Marshall, Professor of Public Health and Primary Care, Department of Applied Health Sciences
- Professor Iestyn Williams, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Director of Research in HSMC
- Professor Sheila Greenfield, Professor of Medical Sociology, Department of Applied Health Sciences
- Dr Brian Willis, MRC Clinical Scientist, Department of Applied Health Sciences
- Professor Krish Nirantharakumar, Professor in Health Data Science and Public Health, Honorary Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Deputy Director of the Department of Applied Health Sciences
- , Research Fellow, University of York
Contact
Contact
Professor Tom Marshall - T.P.Marshall@bham.ac.uk