The practical question is whether patients should be enabled as far as possible to see the doctor of their choice or whether to go further and state that they should normally see only one general practitioner because this is better for them. We think that current evidence does not support this last view. Instead general practitioners, primary care teams, managers, politicians, and the public need to develop a shared understanding of the strengths and drawbacks of continuity, which when allied with good communication we call personal continuity (box).