EDITORIAL In this Issue: Continuity of Care

“Asustained partnership between patients and cli-nicians”1 is held by the Institute of Medicine(IOM) to be a critical element of primary care. This sustained partnership is commonly called conti-nuity of care. It is a cornerstone for realizing other aspects of primary care, as defined by the IOM, including integration of care, accountability for a large majority of personal health care needs, and practicing in the context of family and community. The ability of patients and clinicians to achieve this sustained partnership is under attack. Health care system changes are resulting in forced discontinuity of care.2,3 This disruption differentially affects vulnerable patients.4 If the trend is not reversed soon, a genera-tion of patients and clinicians will live without the everyday experience of longitudinal, trusting, healing relationships. Not knowing the possibilities inheren