MINNEAPOLIS, March 4, 2008—Children who are seen by a single doctor during their first half year are more likely to get early preventive health screenings for lead poisoning, anemia and tuberculosis, according to a new study.

Continuity of care as practiced in the study is a key feature of the medical home concept that the MMA has been advancing in its health care reform proposals.

Researchers writing in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics said that continuity of care -- being examined by the same physician over an extended period of time -- was a primary benefit to the health of children in the study.

Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania reported on a study of 1,564 infants with Medicare insurance. The babies received health care at over 120 different primary care offices. Children were followed for the first two years of life.

Although they examined duration of office hours and other practice-specific information, the researchers did not determine whether a medical office used electronic records to alert providers when it was time for screening, a method which has been shown to improve vaccination rates and other interventions.

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