Higher continuous general practitioner care (CGPC) for patients with dementia was associated with safer prescribing and lower rates of major adverse events, according to a study published in the British Journal of General Practice. João Delgado, PhD, and colleagues estimated the associations between CGPC and potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP), as well as the incidence of adverse health outcomes (AHOs) in 9,324 patients with dementia aged 65 and older. CGPC measures included the Usual Provider of Care (UPC), Bice-Boxerman Continuity of Care, and Sequential Continuity indices. Regression models estimated associations with PIPs and survival analysis with incidence of AHOs during the follow-up adjusted for age, sex, deprivation level, 14 comorbidities, and frailty. The highest quartile of UPC (highest continuity) had 34.8% less risk for delirium (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.51-0.84), 57.9% less risk for incontinence (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.31- 0.58), and 9.7% less risk for emergency admissions to hospital (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.99) compared with the lowest quartile.
