Published in:
01-02-2012 | Review
Taking responsibility for the early assessment and treatment of patients with musculoskeletal pain: a review and critical analysis
Authors:
Nadine E Foster, Jan Hartvigsen, Peter R Croft
Published in:
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|
Issue 1/2012
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Abstract
Musculoskeletal pain is common across all populations and costly in terms of impact on the individual and, more generally, on society. In most health-care systems, the first person to see the patient with a musculoskeletal problem such as back pain is the general practitioner, and access to other professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, or osteopaths is still either largely controlled by a traditional medical model of referral or left to self-referral by the patient. In this paper, we examine the arguments for the general practitioner-led model and consider the arguments, and underpinning evidence, for reconsidering who should take responsibility for the early assessment and treatment of patients with musculoskeletal problems.