The Value of Continuity in Healthcare

Content Courtesy of Our Partner

This article was generously contributed by Eve Jacobs, MSN, CRNP, APNC, WHNP-BC as part of ForeverBetty's commitment to providing trusted, evidence-informed education from experienced menopause and hormone health professionals. The views expressed are those of the author and are intended for educational purposes only. They should not replace personalized medical advice from your healthcare provider.

I’m going to say something that I wish we talked about SO much more in healthcare:

The relationship you have with your doctor/healthcare provider matters. A LOT.

Not just the appointment.

Not just the prescription.

Not just the lab result.

The relationship.

There is something incredibly powerful about establishing a relationship with a primary care or women’s health clinician—and then allowing that relationship to grow over time.

It takes time to build trust.

It takes time for your clinician to really know you—not just your medical history, but your baseline, your family history, your values, your concerns, your preferences, what matters to you, what has changed, what hasn’t changed, what you've already tried, and, honestly, you.

And there is something incredibly powerful about having a clinician who has known you for years—who can look at you and say, “Something is different. This isn't like you.”

Because when you have that kind of longitudinal relationship, your care isn't happening in isolated little pieces.

And there is actually some pretty remarkable data behind this.

A 2022 study looking at continuity of care in general practice in Norway found that patients who stayed with the same family physician for 15 years had:

30% less use of emergency department services.

28% fewer hospitalizations.

25% lower mortality.

Let that sink in.

And perhaps even more compelling—the benefit increased with the length of the relationship.

In other words, the longer the doctor-patient relationship, the better the outcomes.

That makes so much sense to me.

Because medicine is not just about treating the problem that walked through the door today.

It’s about recognizing that something is different from your normal.

It’s noticing the subtle change in a blood pressure trend.

The lab value that looks "fine" in isolation but is different from where you've historically been.

The symptom that needs a little more investigation because I know your history.

The medication that another clinician may not realize you stopped six months ago.

The screening test you’re due for.

The specialist you actually need to see—and the test you probably DON'T need because we've already done it.

That is the value of continuity.

Lastly, that continuity with a clinician such as with a caring and well trained, competent, Nurse Practitioner that truly sees YOU, understands YOU, spends time listening to YOU, educates and empowers you about the WHY’S that are involved in YOUR choices about YOUR body and YOUR life and well-being, and is interested and in YOU as a whole person and how these things impact your health physically, emotionally and spiritually is PRICELESS and IS THE CEMENT AND FOUNDATION OF receiving great healthcare.