Having a regular doctor improves patient treatment

A major study from Aarhus University shows that patients with long-term attachment to the same general practitioner (GP) live longer, are admitted to hospital acutely less often, and place less burden on the healthcare system.

The study, which has just been published in The Lancet Primary Care, followed 4.5 million Danes over 16 years and is the first of its kind.

"We can see a 20-25 percent increased risk for both mortality, acute admissions and out-of-hours GP contacts with short attachment to the same GP clinic," says associate professor and senior researcher at the Research Unit for General Practice and Department of Public Health at Aarhus University, who is the lead author of the study.

He emphasizes that the results also apply even when researchers adjust for factors such as gender, age, social group and underlying diseases.

Continuity benefits the entire healthcare system

The study goes further than previous research by also showing how continuity in general practice affects coordination across healthcare sectors.

It shows that patients with long clinic attachment achieve better coherence in their overall treatment course.

"The results clearly indicate that it is health-promoting for patients to stay in the same GP practice over time. It strengthens both treatment quality and reduces the need for acute contacts with the healthcare system," says Anders Prior.

Changes can be mitigated by long-term attachment

The study also shows that even patients who have previously changed doctors many times can reduce their risk by subsequently being attached to the same GP practice for longer periods.

This suggests that it is never too late to establish continuity in treatment.

According to Anders Prior, the study shows the value of the Danish healthcare model, where 99 percent of the population is attached to a regular GP practice.

"If a general practitioner has good knowledge of their patients, they can also be a better doctor, better at coordinating treatment, better at referring to hospital examinations and better at preventing the need for out-of-hours services," he explains.

The research group is not finished investigating how much continuity means for patients.

The next step is to understand the underlying mechanisms and identify which patient groups benefit most from continuity.

"We want to investigate what makes patients change doctors, and whether certain groups derive greater benefit from continuity than others. This can help us develop targeted initiatives to increase continuity in general practice," explains Anders Prior.

About the research findings

Study type: Population-based registry study. 

Collaborating partners: 

External funding: The Practice Research Foundation in Central Denmark Region and the Foundation for General Practice 

Potential conflict of interest: None 

Link to scientific article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanprc/article/PIIS3050-5143(25)00016-0/fulltext

Contact

Associate Professor and Senior Researcher Anders Prior 
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health – Research Unit for General Practice 
Phone: +45 8716 8518 
Email: anders.prior@ph.au.dk