PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - D P Kernick AU - D M Reinhold AU - A Netten TI - What does it cost the patient to see the doctor? DP - 2000 May 01 TA - British Journal of General Practice PG - 401--403 VI - 50 IP - 454 4099 - http://bjgp.org/content/50/454/401.short 4100 - http://bjgp.org/content/50/454/401.full SO - Br J Gen Pract2000 May 01; 50 AB - Against a background of increasing demands on limited resources, there will be an emphasis on undertaking studies that relate benefits of an intervention to the costs that are incurred in their production. Patient costs are an important, but often overlooked, part of an economic exercise and include transport costs, loss of employment, and loss of leisure time. This paper highlights the theoretical difficulties inherent in deriving patient costs and suggests a pragmatic framework to derive unit costs in these areas. We demonstrate that these costs are not inconsiderable when compared with the cost of a general practitioner consultation.