Healio Q&A with Andrew Bazemore: Continuity of primary care lowers health costs

Higher continuity of care has consistently been linked to better patient outcomes, and health care systems should consider ways to better the practice, according to researchers. Continuity of care — the ongoing relationship between patients and their physicians and a core attribute of high-quality primary care — plays an essential role in positive outcomes, Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH, senior vice president of research and policy for the American Board of Family Medicine, and colleagues wrote in Annals of Family Medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of these continuous, trusting relationships as disinformation and patient distrust spread, they added.