Continuum of Care

Continuum of Care (kən-tin-yoo-əm əv kair, from Latin continuum meaning "uninterrupted" and Old French cure meaning "care") is a concept involving an integrated system of care that guides and tracks patients over time through a comprehensive array of health services spanning all levels of intensity of care.

The Continuum of Care covers all levels of health care, from outpatient and preventive care in the community, to secondary and tertiary care in hospitals, to care in the home. Within a Continuum of Care, a patient's care is coordinated across all levels of care that the patient requires.

Related Terms

Primary Care: Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. It provides the first point of contact for all patients within the health care system.

Secondary Care: Secondary care, also known as hospital care, is health care services provided by medical specialists and other health professionals who generally do not have first contact with patients.

Tertiary Care: Tertiary care is specialized consultative health care, usually for inpatients and on referral from a primary or secondary health professional, in a facility that has personnel and facilities for advanced medical investigation and treatment.

Preventive Care: Preventive care consists of measures taken for disease prevention, as opposed to disease treatment.

Integrated Care: Integrated care, also known as coordinated care, comprehensive care, seamless care, or transmural care, is a worldwide trend in health care reforms and new organizational arrangements focusing on more coordinated and integrated forms of care provision.

Patient: A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals.

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Continuum of Care