TOPLINE

The implementation of microteams across a primary care network was associated with an increase in usual provider of care (UPC) index scores, indicating improved continuity of care in primary care.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted an observational study in a large primary care network in the UK to assess the effect of an introduction of a microteams model on the continuity of care across eight sites.
• A total of 12 microteams were implemented across the network, with each team comprising a named experienced GP leader and two or three salaried GPs providing approximately 10 GP sessions per week to around 3875 patients per team.
• The researchers measured the continuity of care using the UPC index, representing how often a patient sees the same GP (pre-implementation; March 2022-2023) or GPs within a microteam (post-implementation; March 2023-2024) over the total sum of GP appointments by that patient.
• Analysis compared UPC index scores before implementation with scores after implementation for patients with three or more GP appointments over a year and for all patients with GP appointments.
• Patient satisfaction was measured using the Friends and Family Test, asking people to give a quantitative rating and leave free-text comments about their service experience.

TAKEAWAY

• Before and after the implementation of microteams, 1024 and 4070 patients had three or more appointments with a GP, respectively. The UPC index score rose from 0.034 before the implementation to 0.358 after the implementation of microteams (P < .001).
• Across all patients with GP appointments, the UPC index score increased from 0.033 before implementation to 0.375 after implementation (P < .001).
• When urgent and acute care appointments were excluded from the post-intervention group, the UPC index score for frequent users was still 0.355.
• Patient satisfaction also improved after intervention.

IN PRACTICE

"Continuity metrics should be interpreted as part of a broader picture, rather than fixating on numerical targets. The focus should remain on leveraging continuity improvements to enhance the overall patient and provider experience, whilst using the UPC as one of many evaluative tools to support this," the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Ioannis Saxionis, Living Well Partnership, Southampton, England. It was published online on July 09, 2026, in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health.

LIMITATIONS

The pre- and post-intervention UPC measures could not be directly compared because they were measured differently: one based on a single GP before the intervention and the other based on a team of two or three GPs afterwards. Patients were not individually matched across periods. The study was conducted within a single large urban primary care network; thus, the findings may not be generalisable to other practices.

DISCLOSURES

This study did not receive any specific funding. One author reported receiving support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Another author reported receiving support from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre-Nutrition and the University of Southampton and disclosed receiving lecture fees from two pharmaceutical companies and Healthcare Conferences UK outside of the submitted work.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.