BACKGROUND/AIMS We used time-variant measures of continuity of care to study fluctuations in long-term treatment use by patients with alcohol-related disorders. METHODS Data on service use were extracted from the Psychiatric Case Register for the Rotterdam Region, The Netherlands. Continuity measures were calculated for each day over a 2-year observation period. Repeated measures analysis was...

We sought to assess continuity of care for elderly patients in Korea and to examine any association between continuity of care and health outcomes (hospitalization, emergency department visits, health care costs). This was a retrospective cohort study using the Korea National Health Insurance Claims Database. Elderly people, 65-84 yr of age, who were first diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (n=26...

PURPOSE In a primary care context favoring group practices, we assessed the validity of 2 new continuity measures (both versions of known provider continuity, KPC) that capture the concentration of care over time from multiple physicians (multiple provider continuity, KPC-MP) or from the physician seen most often (personal provider continuity, KPC-PP). METHODS Patients with diabetes or cardio...

PURPOSE Continuity of care among different clinicians refers to consistent and coherent care management and good measures are needed. We conducted a metasummary of qualitative studies of patients' experience with care to identify measurable elements that recur over a variety of contexts and health conditions as the basis for a generic measure of management continuity. METHODS From an initial ...

Stepped care is increasingly seen as an appropriate model for efficient and cost-effective provision of needs-based mental healthcare services, and is now recommended by bodies such as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. In this paper we examine how the stepped care model can provide a useful framework for thinking about new mental health technologies. Consideration of each level an...

BACKGROUND Despite demonstrated benefits of continuity of care, longitudinal care experiences are difficult to provide to medical students. A series of standardized patient encounters was developed as an innovative curricular element to address this gap in training for medical students in a family medicine clerkship. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and implementation ...

OBJECTIVE This discussion paper analyses a midwifery Continuity of Care program at an Australian University with the symbiotic clinical education model, to identify strengths and weakness, and identify ways in which this new pedagogical approach can be improved. BACKGROUND In 2002 a major change in Australian midwifery curricula was the introduction of a pedagogical innovation known as the Co...