Patients' Perceptions of Interpersonal Continuity of Care
The Journal of the American Board of Family MedicinePublished 1 July 2006Open access
Nancy Pandhi, John Saultz
Citations131
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.02
SNIP0.87
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TL;DR
The health system shift from doctor-patient continuity of care to team-based continuity may not match patients' preferences and future research should continue to explore the importance of interpersonal continuity to patients.
Abstract
Future research should continue to explore the importance of interpersonal continuity to patients. In particular, are there medical consequences when those whom desire continuity do not receive it? Clinicians should consider incorporating patients' preference for continuity into their office scheduling procedures.
Keywords
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceHealth Professions
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