Evaluation and application of continuity measures in primary care settings.

Continuity of contact between patients and physicians has become an important criterion of quality primary care. Using three measures of continuity that have appeared in the literature, this article examines, through the use of simulated data and through application to data from five primary care settings, the differences and utility of these approaches for measuring continuity. Further, these measures are applied to four selected diagnoses from each of the five sites, and the observed continuity scores afforded patients with these diagnoses are compared with those expected based on the population.

The Michigan Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: results and utility relative to the National Survey.

Percentage distributions for variables in the Michigan Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (MAMCS), both for the Detroit Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) and the State as a whole, are compared with those from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS). The MAMCS data are a subset of the NAMCS data, since the MAMCS was carried out by augmenting the NAMCS in Michigan. Differences in the impact of survey results for the three areas are examined in the context of planning and developing ambulatory health care services.