Policies and interventions provided during subsequent consultations for PHP (within 12 months) depending on what happened during the first consultation (N = 933)
| Policy or intervention during first consultationa | Patients returning for multiple consultations, n (%) | Patients with wait-and-see policy during follow-up consultation, n (%) | Patients receiving a referral during follow-up consultation, n (%) | Total interventions provided, mean (SD) | Total consultations with GP in 12 months, mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any (n= 933) | 288 (30.9) | 85 (9.1) | 160 (17.1) | 1.38 (1.11) | 1.52 (1.03) |
| Diagnostics (n = 80) | 73 (91.3) | 33 (41.3) | 33 (41.3) | 1.09 (1.07) | 2.28 (1.04) |
| Wait-and-see (n = 168) | 54 (32.1) | 13 (7.7) | 31 (18.5) | 0.48 (0.99) | 1.60 (1.21) |
| Referral to paramedical podiatric specialist (n = 184) | 31 (16.8) | 8 (4.3) | 19 (10.3) | 1.48 (0.78) | 1.32 (0.83) |
| Referral to physiotherapist (n = 47) | 7 (14.9) | 4 (8.5) | 4 (8.5) | 1.38 (0.77) | 1.28 (0.85) |
| Exercises (n = 91) | 19 (20.9) | 5 (5.5) | 9 (9.9) | 2.16 (1.07) | 1.34 (0.87) |
| NSAID (n = 186) | 60 (32.3) | 19 (10.2) | 33 (17.7) | 2.06 (1.33) | 1.58 (1.12) |
NSAID = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. PHP = plantar heel pain. SD = standard deviation.
↵a Patients could receive multiple interventions/diagnostics/policies, therefore number of patients in these cells does not total 933.