Continuity Care: Stop Changing Doctors

A common trend for patients in healthcare practice is changing doctors when they are not happy with results or are not confident in their skills. This misconception has been going on for the longest time but new research today confirms that doctors were right all along.

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal reveals that the culture of changing doctors may be doing more harm than good. Continuity of care develops overtime. As the doctor-patient relationship is developed, this results in better quality healthcare. Better communication, patient satisfaction, adherence to medical advice and more are cultivated with the relationship.

Entitled “Continuity of care with doctors—a matter of life and death? A systematic review of continuity of care and mortality”, the research highlights the importance of sticking to one doctor. Researchers Gray et al. came to the conclusion that patients seeing the same doctors results in fewer patient deaths.Of 22 high-quality studies, 18 of these (81.8%) reflect statistically significant reductions in mortality with increased continuity of care. This benefits patients across all cultural boundaries and covers both generalist and specialist care.

This attacks the societal misconception that doctors are interchangeable – and confirms what doctors have been afraid to tell patients: interpersonal care is vital.