A new 10-minute tool to help general practices measure continuity of care has been launched by the University of Bristol.
The Bristol Continuity of Care Calculator is free to use and aims to create benchmarks so practices can compare their continuity with others, including those with different list structures and workforce models.
The current version works with EMIS and a second version, which will be compatible with SystmOne, is due to be released in the coming weeks.
Developed by the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC), the tool links to clinical records to calculate the level of continuity provided at a practice.
It measures continuity across face-to-face, telephone and video consultations, as well as GP home visits, over the previous two years.
The calculator uses four metrics to generate a benchmarking score:
- Bice-Boxerman Continuity of Care (COC) – assesses the range of different GPs seen, with higher scores when patients see fewer GPs.
- Usual Provider of Care (UPC) – the proportion of consultations with the GP a patient sees most often.
- St Leonard’s Index of Continuity of Care (SLICC) – the proportion of a GP’s consultations involving patients for whom they are the usual/registered GP.
- Modified SLICC (mSLICC) – the proportion of consultations in the practice that a patient has with the GP they see most often.
CAPC said the measures are suitable for a range of practice models, including those using personal lists and those delivering continuity by microteams.
Chris Salisbury, professor of primary healthcare at the University of Bristol, led the team that developed the tool.
Professor Salisbury said: ‘This is a simple tool that takes less than 10 minutes to run and provides a range of useful measures of continuity which are suitable for different types of practices, including those that have personal lists and those which provide continuity within teams. The tool can be used on a regular basis to monitor improvements over time.’
Professor Mark Rickenbach, the RCGP’s clinical policy representative for continuity of care, welcomed the tool and described it as ‘the missing key’ in measuring continuity.
‘There is a groundswell of opinion and evidence in support of continuity of care but continuity is actually declining.
‘For years the missing key has been an easy way to measure continuity of care. Now, at last, we have one – a calculator that can link in with clinical records systems and use the common descriptors of continuity of care, which then feeds back to individual GPs and GP practices on how well they are doing,’ said Prof Rickenbach.
Dr Luke Sayers, a GP partner at Whitley Bay Health Centre and project lead for continuity of care at North East and North Cumbria ICB said the tool was ‘a real step forward’ for practices.
‘Measuring continuity of care has been tricky and a barrier to improvement work. This fantastic tool allows practices to measure continuity of care simply. It presents the different measurement data in an understandable format, so practices get a full picture of their baseline continuity,’ said Dr Sayers.
The 2025/26 GP contract included a new incentive to boost patient continuity. Amendments to the Capacity and Access Improvement (CAIP) payment saw practices being paid to identify patients who would benefit most from continuity of care.
