Out-of-pocket costs, primary care frequent attendance and sample selection: Estimates from a longitudinal cohort design

In 2014 the Australian Health Minister noted that a small group of patients accounted for a large proportion of overall government funded health services and proposed a need to reconsider the way these patients were managed [1]. The most prolific users of primary health care services (frequent attenders (FAs)), commonly defined as the top 10% of attenders in a year, have been found to account for 33% of GP consultations [2] and generate five times as many prescriptions and hospital contacts as other patients [3].
Source: Health Policy - Category: Health Management Authors: Source Type: research