title: Continuity of care. Opportunity for residents to see repeat patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the opportunity for first-year family medicine residents to experience continuity of care during family medicine block time and half-day returns.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of patient encounter data during the 1987-1988 and 1991-1992 academic years to determine how much contact residents had with repeat patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two family medicine teaching centres in Edmonton.
  
  
  METHODS
  First-year family medicine residents: 24 residents during 1987-1988 and 24 during 1991-1992.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number of patient-resident contacts and number of repeat contacts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the 4-month block time and half-day return, residents had repeat contact with 25.9% and 20.3% of the patients seen. These patients provided 48.3% and 37.7% of all visits at Centres A and B, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increasing block time from 2 to 4 months resulted in only a slight increase in repeat contact with patients. Half-day returns did not appear to enhance the opportunity for continuity of care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton.
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Szafran
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors