PHP122 - The Accuracy of Patient Self Report in Measuring Continuity of Care in Australia

Abstract

Continuity of care is a multidimensional concept which considers the patterns of care received by patients, and the coordination of information required for high quality care. A number of measurement instruments have been utilised to investigate continuity of care, including patient self reported measures. This paper seeks to determine the accuracy of patient self reported continuity of care in Australian primary care. This paper uses data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a longitudinal suvey of Australian women (now in its seventh wave). This data surveys women about their behaviour in seeking care from the same provider or practice, and is linked to health service usage from the national insurer, Medicare. Analysis is made of the correlation between patient self reported continuity of care and administrative data records Although there is high correlation between patient reported measures of continuity of care and administrative records of health service usage, there are inconsistencies between the differing measurement instruments. Recall bias is a potential explanation for this finding. There is evidence of recall bias in patient self reported continuity of care measures which needs to be considered in research into continuity of care.