Continuity of care belongs in secondary care as well as in primary care

Prioritisation of continuity of care in primary care in the UK is long overdue.1 Continuity of care also belongs in secondary care.Admitting a patient to hospital in the UK can often involve multiple transfers between different wards and teams. A patient may see different clinicians each day of their stay, even when on the same ward. While a fresh pair of eyes can bring a new perspective, or a referral bring specialist knowledge, the main team should stay the same as much as possible.Alternating doctors with no attempt at continuity is an inefficient way to practise medicine. It is time consuming for teams to digest the large quantity of clinical documentation before meeting a patient for the first time. Information can be easily missed, results can go unnoticed, and investigations can be reordered at an unnecessary cost. Day-to-day clinical progress is more difficult to assess when seeing a patient for…
Read Original Article: Continuity of care belongs in secondary care as well as in primary care »