A method for assuring continuity of care in residency training experience

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Primary Health Care
• Patient Management

Background:

• Ensuring continuity of care is crucial in primary care settings, especially within residency training programs.
• Unscheduled patient visits and new patient integration can disrupt established care pathways.
• A structured approach is needed to manage patient flow and maintain consistent care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel patient handling system to enhance continuity of care.
• To assess the effectiveness of the Attending Clinic in managing unscheduled and new patients.
• To determine the utility of the system in a teaching medical practice.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a dedicated Attending Clinic for unscheduled and third-visit walk-in patients.
• Systematic data collection on patient encounters and system utilization over a one-month period.
• Analysis of data to evaluate the system's impact on care continuity and patient disposition.

Main Results:

• The Attending Clinic successfully managed all unscheduled and qualifying walk-in patients.
• Data indicated positive utilization of the system for patient management and disposition.
• The system demonstrated usefulness in maintaining continuity of care for patients.

Conclusions:

• The Attending Clinic serves as an effective tool for ensuring continuity of care in primary care residency training.
• The system facilitates the systematic introduction and management of patients within a teaching medical practice.
• This patient handling model supports consistent and organized primary care delivery.