Published eLetters
If you would like to comment on this article, click on Submit a Response to This article, below. We welcome your input.
Jump to comment:
- Page navigation anchor for Continuity of careContinuity of careShow More
Professor Starfield observes that ‘there is no point to measuring [continuity] if we do not know what it is!’. This refers to Wittgenstein’s remark that ‘what we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence’ (1). Fortunately, we do know what ‘continuity of care’ is. In her 1980 commentary (2), Starfield clearly distinguished between two main concepts of continuity of care. Relational continuity, sometimes termed ‘longi...
Competing Interests: None declared. - Page navigation anchor for What is continuity?What is continuity?Show More
The article, Measuring Continuity of Care in Diabetes Mellitus: An Experience-Based Measure, reverts to the disease-oriented concept of continuity as used in the older literature. In more recent times, continuity has been considered a feature of good primary care practice and, to distinguish it from the older use, has often been re-named as 'longitudinality'.
In this article, a 19 item measure with four subdom...
Competing Interests: None declared. - Page navigation anchor for The new continuity measure is grounded in patients� experiencesThe new continuity measure is grounded in patients� experiencesShow More
We are grateful to Dr John Saultz and Drs Henk Schers and Annemarie Uijen for their interest in our recent paper which described the development and validation of a new questionnaire measure of continuity of care (1).
In her 1980 commentary, Starfield (2) remarked on the confusion between two main concepts of continuity: relational continuity and management continuity. Multidimensional models of continuity of c...
Competing Interests: None declared. - Page navigation anchor for A new continuity measure: remarks on content and utilityA new continuity measure: remarks on content and utilityShow More
By constructing a new measure for continuity of care, Gulliford and collegeaus have contributed to our knowledge about an important theme in general practice. They published a thorough piece of work on the development and validation of a new measurement instrument for continuity of care in diabetic patients. Their work will enable researchers to measure seperate dimensions of continuity.
However, we also have...
Competing Interests: None declared. - Page navigation anchor for Measuring continuity of careMeasuring continuity of careShow More
The paper by Gulliford et al is a terrific contribution to our understanding of one of family medicine's core principles. In carrying out this work, the authors have taken a somewhat new approach, allowing a more detailed look at continuity within a single disease model. Virtually every health care system in the developed world is interested in how to improve diabetes care, both as a quality and a cost containment issue...
Competing Interests: None declared.