Table 2.
Characteristics of Patients in the Study
| Variables | All Patients N = 765 | Multiple Provider Continuity Level
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High n = 358 (>74%) | Moderate n = 334 (30%–74%) | Low n = 68 (<30%) | ||
| Sociodemographic characteristics | ||||
| Women, % | 48 | 51.7 | 48.8 | 32.4a |
| Completed university, % | 14.2 | 13.8 | 15.3 | 11.8b |
| Mean age, y | 66.7 | 67.1 | 67.1 | 62.1a |
| Mean ambulatory visits, No. | 10.7 | 9.0 | 12.9 | 10.9c |
| With high morbidity (RUB 4 or 5), % | 40 | 34.6 | 45.2 | 42.7a |
| SF-12 PCS, mean score (range 0–100) | 39.6 | 40.9 | 39.4 | 39.1b |
| Known provider continuity (KPC) | ||||
| With high multiple provider (MP) continuity, % | 47.2 | 100 | … | … |
| With high personal provider (PP) continuity, % | 19.6 | 41.6 | 0 | 0a |
| Continuity-related variables from questionnaires | ||||
| Relational continuity | ||||
| Mean scored | 8.5 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 7.5 |
| With high continuity, % | 41.7 | 43.1 | 40.9 | 38.7b |
| Interpersonal communication | ||||
| Mean scored | 8.7 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| With high communication, % | 46.5 | 47.4 | 46.6 | 41.3b |
| Coordination within the clinic | ||||
| Mean scored,e | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.0 |
| With high coordination, %e | 24.6 | 27.5 | 23.1 | 15.8b |
| Coordination with specialists | ||||
| Mean scored,f | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 6.9 |
| With high coordination, %f | 39.4 | 41.9 | 36.8 | 40.0b |
| Overall coordination | ||||
| Mean scored | 9.0 | 9.3 | 9.0 | 8.4 |
| With high coordination, % | 58.4 | 43.9 | 36.5 | 31.7a |
| High combined continuity score, % | 34.0 | 37.3 | 31.4 | 30.0a |
| With family physician, % | 99.1 | 99.1 | 99.7 | 95.5a |
ANOVA = analysis of variance; RUB = Resource Utilization Band; SF-12 PCS = Short Form-12 physical component summary score.
Tested and found significant (P ≤.05) by ANOVA or χ2.
Tested and not found significant (P >.05) by ANOVA or χ2.
Tested and not found significant by negative binomial regression.
Means rescaled from 0–10, with 0 indicating low and 10 indicating high continuity/communitation/coordination; not tested statistically because distribution with ceiling effect.
These results apply for 232 patients who had other physicians or nurses who worked in their physician’s office and played an important role in their care (30% of patients in ambulatory clinics); 109 of these patients had high, 104 moderate, and 19 low KPC-MP.
These results apply for 447 patients who were referred to a specialist or education center for 1 of the 2 problems targeted by this study (diabetes, cardiovascular disease) (58.4% of patients in ambulatory clinics); 198 of these patients had high, 209 moderate and 40 low KPC-MP.