Multisite Study to Examine the Amount of Inpatient Physician Continuity Experienced by Hospitalized Patients. J Grad Med Educ 2015 Dec;7(4):624-9
Date
12/23/2015Pubmed ID
26692976Pubmed Central ID
PMC4675421DOI
10.4300/JGME-D-14-00648.1Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84969397581 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: Continuity for inpatient medicine has been widely discussed, but methods for measuring it have been lacking.
OBJECTIVE: To measure the continuity of care experienced by hospitalized patients and to identify predictors of continuity.
METHODS: This was a multisite prospective cohort study and retrospective chart review that took place at 3 hospitals: an academic tertiary care center, a Veterans Affairs medical center, and a community teaching hospital. Subjects were general medicine patients and internal medicine residents. We measured continuity of care using 3 metrics: (1) the percentage of hospital time covered by the primary intern; (2) the amount of time between admission and the first handoff of care; and (3) admission-discharge continuity. We conducted univariate analyses to identify patient and hospital factors that may be associated with each type of continuity of care.
RESULTS: Our sample included 869 patients with a mean age of 62.6 years (SD = 17.2) and 34% female patients. The mean percentage of hospital time covered by the primary intern was 39.2% (SD = 16.3%). The mean time between admission and the first handoff of care was 13.3 hours (SD = 7.1). Forty percent of patients experienced admission-discharge continuity. In univariate and multivariable modeling, the site was significantly associated with each type of continuity.
CONCLUSIONS: The amount of continuity varied greatly and was influenced by the site and other factors. No site maximized every aspect of continuity. Programs and institutions should decide which aspects of continuity are most important locally and design schedules accordingly.
Author List
Fletcher KE, Singh S, Whittle J, Ratkalkar V, Visotcky AM, Laud P, Kordus A, Schapira MMAuthors
Purushottam W. Laud PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinAlexis M. Visotcky Biostatistician III in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Jeffrey Whittle MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultContinuity of Patient Care
Female
Hospitalization
Hospitals, Teaching
Humans
Internal Medicine
Internship and Residency
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Handoff
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling
Physicians
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies
