Quality in primary care
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Quality in primary care · Jan 2013
Impact of continuity on quality of primary care: from the perspective of citizens' preferences and multimorbidity - position paper of the European Forum for Primary Care.
Continuity of care is one of the cornerstones of primary care. Initially, the concept of continuity largely corresponded to one care provider and continuity between doctor and patient, but today, healthcare processes and organisations have grown and become more complex. A survey of patients with complex care needs found that in all of 11 countries studied care was often poorly coordinated. Multidimensional models of continuity have to be developed. ⋯ Continuity is, and will be, an important component of quality in primary care, especially from the perspective of citizens and growing multimorbidity. Methods to develop continuity should be promoted.