Continuity of care in general practice and secondary care: retrospective cohort study

Better continuity in primary and secondary care is linked to improved health outcomes, but it is unclear whether the sociodemographic determinants of continuity are the same in both settings and whether continuity measures in each setting are associated.

To examine the determinants of relational continuity in general practice and fragmented outpatient specialty care in people with clusters of multiple long-term conditions (LTCs) and the association between continuity in each setting.

A cohort of patients aged ≥18 years registered to general practices in England throughout 2019 and who had linked hospital outpatient records. Patients with ≥2 of 212 LTCs and with ≥3 general practice and ≥3 outpatient appointments were included.

The Continuity of Care Index (COCI) was calculated separately for visits to the same a) GP and b) outpatient specialty, and associations calculated for sociodemographic factors and number of LTCs with COCI scores. The association was also assessed between indices in each setting using univariable and multivariable fractional logit regression.

Of 1 135 903 patients, 56.3% (n = 639 489)were aged ≥60 years. Age was the strongest determinant of continuity in general practice, whereas number of LTCs was the strongest determinant in secondary care. Although statistically significant (P<0.001), the relationship between the COCI in general practice and outpatients was clinically insignificant in both univariable and multivariable models.

A lack of strong association between continuity of care in general practice and outpatient settings was found. This suggests that fragmented hospital care is not mitigated by increased continuity in general practice.