Observational studyThe European journal of general practice2021
Characteristics and economic burden of frequent attenders with medically unexplained symptoms in primary care in Israel.
Observational study in The European journal of general practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Frequent attenders in primary health care in Finland: use of primary care services and patient characteristics.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 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
- Perceptions, approaches, and needs of Czech GPs in the management of patients with persistent somatic symptoms: the results of a nationwide cross-sectional survey.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Method Matters: Enhancing Voice-Based Depression Detection With a New Data Collection Framework.Depression and anxiety · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFrequent Attenders with Medically Unexplained Symptoms (FA/MUS) are common in primary care, though challenging to identify and treat.
objectivesThis study sought to compare FA/MUS to FA with organic illnesses (FA/OI) and the general clinic population (Non-FA) to understand their demographic characteristics and healthcare utilisation patterns.
methodsFor this retrospective, observational study, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) were obtained from Clalit Health Services, regarding the population of a sizeable primary care clinic in Be'er-Sheva, Israel. Electronic medical records were screened to identify the top 5% of FA. FA were stratified based on whether they had OI. FA without OI were then corroborated as having MUS by their physicians. Demographics, healthcare utilisation and costs were analysed for FA/OI, FA/MUS and Non-FA.
resultsOut of 594 FA, 305 (53.6%) were FA/OI and 264 (46.4%) were FA/MUS. FA/OI were older (69.1 vs. 56.4 years,
conclusionFA/MUS are more costly than Non-FA and exhibit unique healthcare utilisation and costs patterns. FA/OI had more severe illnesses necessitating hospitalisations and surgical interventions, while FA/MUS had more investigations and tests, attempting to find an explanation for their symptoms.
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