Continuity of care and the new GMS contract: a survey of general practitioners in England and Wales

Tim Stokes, Richard Baker, Car

Abstract

There has been concern that new General Medical Services (GMS) contract ignores interpersonal aspects of care and threatens continuity of care. We report the results of a survey of general practitioners (GPs) in England and Wales that sought to determine how the new GP contract is perceived to affect the provision of continuity of care. The GPs reported that they would be significantly less likely to be able to provide personal continuity of care and management continuity in future. In contrast, the GPs reported that informational continuity across the primary–secondary care interface would be significantly more likely to improve in future.