BACKGROUND Few studies have examined the effect of continuity of care on avoidable hospitalization, and the results have been inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the effects of continuity of care on avoidable hospitalization and hospital admission for any condition in a health care system with a high level of access to care. METHODS We used a longitudinal design to examine claims data t...

BACKGROUND Coordination of care is considered a key component of patient-centered health care systems, but is rarely defined or operationalised in health care policy. Continuity, an aspect of coordination, is the patient's experience of care over time, and is often described in terms of three dimensions: information, relational and management continuity. With the current health policy focus on ...

BACKGROUND midwifery continuity of care has been shown to be beneficial to women through reducing interventions and other maternal and neonatal morbidity. In Australia, numerous government reports recognise the importance of midwifery models of care that provide continuity. Given the benefits, midwives, including new graduate midwives, should have the opportunity to work in these models of care...

background: the quality of care from the perspective of people with type 2 diabetes using a new model (cqmh) including three dimensions of quality in health care (technical, service and customer quality) was assessed. methods: a cross-sectional survey with a sample of 577 people with type 2 diabetes was conducted. measures were self-reported adherence to national guidelines for technical qualit...

BACKGROUND Integrated health care networks (IHN) are promoted in numerous countries as a response to fragmented care delivery by providing a coordinated continuum of services to a defined population. However, evidence on their effectiveness and outcome is scarce, particularly considering continuity across levels of care; that is the patient's experience of connected and coherent care received f...

BACKGROUND High experienced continuity is known to be associated with lower needs for supportive care and most likely higher quality of life. On this background, the aim of this study was to investigate if patient-experienced continuity of care was associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer patients treated at two different-sized breast cancer units. METHODS In 20...

Reduction of the duration of postpartum hospital stay in western countries highlights the need for better support and continuity of care for expectant and new mothers. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies to improve continuity of care for expectant and new mothers. The study also aimed to elaborate on a preliminary substantive grounded theory model of "linkage in the chain of car...

OBJECTIVES We describe the relationship between continuity of care and control of hypertension. DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal cohort study of adults with hypertension. SETTING University of North Carolina Family Medicine Center. PATIENTS Hypertensive patients making at least four visits to the Center during a two-year period, 1999-2001. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Longitudinal blood press...

As junior doctors work shorter hours in light of concerns about the harmful effects of fatigue on physician performance and health, it is imperative to consider how to ensure that patient safety is not compromised by breaks in the continuity of care. By reconceptualizing handover as a necessary bridge to continuity, and hence to safer patient care, the model of continuity-enhanced handovers has...