Continuity of care in general practice: effect on patient satisfaction

Patient satisfaction is important. Evidence has accumulated that care which is less satisfactory to the patient is associated with non-compliance with treatment and return appointments and a poor understanding and retention of medical information. (Fitzpatrick 1991 a). Patient satisfaction also reflects the technical competence of doctors (Roter et al. 1987) and satisfaction may be directly related to improvement in the health status of patients (Fitzpatrick et al. 1983).