ArticleBritish journal of pain2019
'The Doctor doesn't need to see you now': reduction in general practice appointments following group pain management.
Article in British journal of pain, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- What does collaborative healthcare for people with musculoskeletal-related conditions look like? A scoping review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Healthcare utilization and resource distribution before and after interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation in primary care.Scandinavian journal of pain · 2025Article
- Determinants of implementation for group medical visits for patients with chronic pain: a systematic review.Implementation science communications · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients living with chronic, non-malignant, musculoskeletal pain are frequent visitors to general practice (GP) services, placing a large burden on resources. Pain management programmes (PMPs) are recommended for chronic pain patients and aim to teach self-management techniques. While there is evidence for their clinical effectiveness, few studies have explored whether there is a reduction in primary care healthcare use after attending a PMP.
aimThis study sought to address this by gathering data on pain-related primary care appointments before and after attending a PMP. DESIGN AND
settingMedical records of 50 patients attending a group outpatient PMP were obtained to determine whether the number of pain-related GP appointments differed 1 year after attending the programme compared with the year beforehand. Robust data were obtained from GP appointment systems and a retrospective observational design was utilised.
resultsThe results indicated a 43.9% decrease in the number of GP appointments in the year following a PMP, a change that was statistically significant.
conclusionThe findings of the study show that there are fewer pain-related appointments in primary care in the year following a group outpatient PMP compared with the preceding year. It is possible that the self-management techniques taught on the programme lead to a reduction in patient's need to consult their GP as frequently about their pain. However, limitations in the current research mean that the reduction in appointments cannot be definitively attributed to PMP attendance and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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