TY - JOUR T1 - Frequent attenders in general practice: a retrospective 20-year follow-up study. JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 567 LP - 569 VL - 51 IS - 468 AU - T A Carney AU - S Guy AU - G Jeffrey Y1 - 2001/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/51/468/567.abstract N2 - We describe a 20-year retrospective study of 58 patients with a cross-matched control group in one practice, who initially attended more than 12 times in 1975. The study establishes that frequent attendance is not consistent; the majority of high-attending patients in general practice revert over a short period of time to a normal consulting pattern. Diseases, rather than patients, appear to dictate high consulting rates. Consistent high attendance is largely owing to multiple pathology. ER -