Why is continuity important? Equal and fair healthcare for the entire population.

Continuity benefits absolutely everyone. It benefits you as a healthcare provider, it benefits you as someone responsible for a governmental budget, it benefits you as a politician, and it benefits you as a patient and citizen. But why? And how? Why is continuity so important that it has come to shape reforms and ways of working? 

Healthcare is consumed by a small share of the population 

Today, healthcare consumption is heavily concentrated to a small part of the population, and this pattern is the same regardless of which European country you are in. Figures from 2018 show that 1% of patients account for 24% of healthcare costs, 5% for 55%, and 10% for as much as 68%. This group consists mainly of older citizens and patients with multiple chronic conditions. These are also the patients who most often seek a long-term, continuous relationship with their healthcare provider.  

In other words, the vast majority of healthcare spending today goes to a relatively small share of the population. It is also worth noting that, given ongoing demographic changes, the share of people who need more care is expected to rise significantly, and healthcare consumption is expected to become even more unevenly distributed. 

At the same time, research suggests that continuity is a very strong factor of quality within healthcare. It leads to lower mortality, fewer hospital admissions and emergency visits and better adherence to treatment. These factors contribute to a better patient experience and more efficient use of resources. Continuity therefore offers opportunities to save time, money and energy while delivering better care for citizens. 

But what about the rest of the population? 

If healthcare is mainly consumed by a small share of the population, and it is mainly that share that would benefit directly from more continuous ways of working, what happens to everyone else? Healthcare has a responsibility to the entire population, not only to those who are most seriously ill. Most citizens will seek care now and then for minor complaints and go home without feeling any need to see exactly the same doctor or nurse again. A continuous way of working, focused on patients meeting the same healthcare staff time after time, therefore makes little difference to a large part of the population. So why should it be a priority? 

When care is delivered efficiently to the patients who need the most, resources are freed up for those who need the least. The time and energy that is freed up benefits the one-time patient, who can get help faster with what they need. Greater continuity benefits patients with complex care needs and saves resources that benefit the one-time patient. Healthcare providers get the opportunity to actually deliver better care without needing more resources. The population gets equal care that makes the best possible use of their tax money.  

Simply put, everyone wins with continuity.