A retrospective cohort study using longitudinal data from 100,450 patients across 48 general practices in and around Amsterdam found that patients registered with their practice for longer than 5 years had 9% to 21% lower odds of urgent hospital admission and 17%-28% lower hospital costs compared to those registered for 0 to 5 years. Consistently seeing the same general practitioner was associated with 6% to 7% lower hospital costs, but not with fewer urgent admissions. Researchers measured continuity associations with urgent hospital admissions and hospital costs in two ways: duration of the general practitioner-patient relationship and how concentrated a patient's visits were with one physician.
Why It Matters: Keeping patients connected to the same practice and physician over time may help reduce avoidable hospital use.
Association of General Practice Continuity With Hospital Admissions and Costs: A Retrospective Study
Corresponding Author: Otto R. Maarsingh, MD, PhD, et al
Department of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Aging and Later Life, Amsterdam Public Health, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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