title: Financial implications of the continuity of primary care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to assess the financial implications of the continuity of care, for patients with high care needs, by examining the cost of government-funded health care services in British Columbia, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using British Columbia Ministry of Health administrative databases for fiscal year 2010-2011 and generalized linear models, we estimated cost ratios for 10 cost-related predictor variables, including patients' attachment to the practice. Patients were selected and divided into groups on the basis of their Resource Utilization Band (RUB) and placement in provincial registries for 8 chronic conditions (1,619,941 patients). The final dataset included all high- and very-high-care-needs patients in British Columbia (ie, RUB categories 4 and 5) in 1 or more of the 8 registries who met the screening criteria (222,779 patients).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 10 predictors, across 8 medical conditions and both RUBs, patients' attachment to the practice had the strongest relationship to costs (correlations = -0.168 to -0.322). Higher attachment was associated with lower costs. Extrapolation of the findings indicated that an increase of 5% in the overall attachment level, for the selected high-care-needs patients, could have resulted in an estimated cost avoidance of $142 million Canadian for fiscal year 2010-2011.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Continuity of care, defined as a patient's attachment to his/her primary care practice, can reduce health care costs over time and across chronic conditions. Health care policy makers may wish to consider creating opportunities for primary care physicians to increase the attachment that their high-care-needs patients have to their practices.
authors.affiliation: President of Hollander Analytical Services, Ltd, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. marcus@hollanderanalytical.com.
authors.forename: Marcus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hollander
authors.affiliation: Senior Scientist for Hollander Analytical Services, Ltd, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. helena@hollanderanalytical.com.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kadlec
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001955:British Columbia; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000191:economics*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D055815:Young Adult