ReviewJournal of patient-centered research and reviews2020
Defining and Characterizing Frequent Attenders: Systematic Literature Review and Recommendations.
Review in Journal of patient-centered research and reviews, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining the characteristics of patients with long-term impaired work ability in primary health care - a cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Trial
- Frequent attenders in primary health care in Finland: use of primary care services and patient characteristics.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Digital clinic users in Finnish public primary care: their characteristics, reasons for visits, and equity considerations - a register study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Observational
- Factors associated with persistent high use of emergency departments: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Lessons learned from a trial on integrated and proactive care for patients with complex needs (Hotspotters project): a process evaluation.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Data Resource Profile: The General Practice Database-Amsterdam, North Holland, Almere (GPD-ANHA).International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- [Definition of polyconsultant patients in primary health care using Data Science].Atencion primaria · 2026Article
- Health and Social Care Professionals' Perspectives of the Desired Interprofessional Collaboration in Frequent Attenders' Person-Centred Care: A Qualitative Study.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2026Article
- Review
- Hospital at home for older frequent hospital users: present and future of a healthcare challenge.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Article
- Rate and Characteristics of Frequent Attenders at Primary Healthcare Centres in Muscat Governorate, Oman:Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2026Article
- Identifying subgroups of frequent emergency department users: a latent class analysis with linked healthcare utilisation, cost and mortality outcomes in the UK.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Post-COVID-19 condition patients' utilisation of healthcare resources after implementation of an integrated care unit.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2025Article
- Article
- A sex- and gender-based analysis plus of frequent healthcare utilization among individuals living with chronic pain: a cohort study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Factors associated with repeat contact with an out-of-hours mental health crisis service: an observational study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Profile and healthcare utilisation patterns of adolescent frequent attenders in Singapore primary care: a retrospective study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Review
- Reducing patients' rate of frequent attendance through a training intervention for physicians.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Comorbidity Burden and Health Care Utilization by Substance use Disorder Patterns among People with HIV in Florida.AIDS and behavior · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo decrease cost and improve efficiency, health care organizations have focused on frequent attenders - patients with high health care utilization. Prior studies have investigated singular health care settings, used varying definitions of frequent attendance, and inconsistently identified factors correlated with frequent attendance. The purpose of this article is to suggest a uniform definition of frequent attenders for different health care settings and to determine factors correlated with frequent attendance.
methodsThis systematic review of three databases identified 2761 unique articles; 174 met inclusion criteria. Studies were analyzed for their definition of frequent attenders and factors associated with frequent attendance.
resultsMost studies defined frequent attenders by number of health care visits within a set time period (n=115) and top percentile cutoff (n=42). Based on averages across studies, we propose the following frequent attender definitions: for primary care, either the top 10th percentile or at least 10 visits in 12 months; for emergency room, at least 5 visits in 12 months; and for inpatient hospitalization, at least 4 admissions in 12 months. Common factors correlated with frequent attendance were mental health and chronic disease.
conclusionsWe propose definitions of frequent attenders for three common health care settings: primary care, emergency room, and inpatient. Future studies should include mental health and chronic disease, among other factors, when studying this population. Adoption of these recommendations will allow comparisons across studies such that meta-analyses may better determine interventions for more appropriate health care utilization.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.