Clinically inexplicable frequent attenders in general practice.
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 12528586.
- Also identified by PMC identifier PMC1314470.
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Abstract
This study was based in an isolated rural practice, and it identified 107 frequent attenders (1.95% of the practice population), who created five times the consultation workload of a similar group matched for age and sex. The general practitioners (GPs) classified 60 (56%) of these patients as attending for clinically inexplicable reasons. This subgroup had higher rates of long-term medication and hospital referral, and more free access to primary health care. The study also identified very high levels of kinship and relationship by marriage within this group (47%).