Poorer physician continuity after care choice for patients with diabetes. a comparison before and after introduction of hälsoval Skåne in Malmö
Tillman, C.; Beckman, A.
Lakartidningen 112
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 1652-7518 PMID: 26079580 Document Number: 683265
Continuity of care is one of the core values of family medicine and both patients and doctors consider it a vital aspect of the care of patients with chronic diseases. In 2009 a national health care reform was implemented in primary care in Sweden. This study compared the longitudinal continuity of care in primary care before and after this reform in 7121 adult diabetes patients living in Malmö. Our findings reveal that continuity of care decreased substantially after the reform. The decrease was independent of sex, type of diabetes, age and income. Both before and after the reform men had a significantly higher rate of continuity of care than women. The number of visits to GPs by diabetes patients decreased slightly each investigated year. This possibly illustrates the crowding out of diabetes patients, as earlier research showed an increased overall number of GP visits for the whole population in Skåne (the county where Malmö is situated) after the reform.