The role of hospitals in bridging the care continuum: a systematic review of coordination of care and follow-up for adults with chronic conditions

This systematic review in BMC Health Services Research has investigated the role of hospitals in the care of patients with chronic diseases including cancer. The quality of the included studies was high with some of the included studies being primary care and cancer related. Broadly, general practitioners were found to play a coordinating role in chronic-illness care but the authors suggested that primary care was perceived as less efficient and of lower quality than secondary care. Conversely, when looking at cancer specifically, the reviewers found that cancer patients in follow-up had higher satisfaction when their care was with their general practicitioner compared to hospital outpatient clinics. Overall, the evidence suggested that primary care will play a more extensive role in the care for chronic patients and that specialized care centres and primary care will need to collaborate to improve patient care coordination.   Read the full article here.