Continuity would be achieved with patient held records

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7341.851/a

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Julian T Hart, external professor of primary care policy. (jthart@glam.ac.uk)

Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd CF37 1DL

EDITOR—Krogstad et al write about the subject of continuity of care.1 The need to balance division of tasks with coordination of tasks applies as much to primary as to hospital care. Both depend on developing team responsibility, which means including patients as active members of the team.

Obviously patients cannot depend always on one exhausted professional but should relate to teams small enough for them to form continuing personal relationships. Within teams the only invariable members are the patients. If they are not actually …