Patients with shoulder complaints in general practice: consumption of medical care.

Objective: To describe the medical consumption [general practitioner (GP) consultation, referrals, medication consumption] of patients with shoulder complaints in general practice.

Methods: Data were obtained from a primary-care medical registration network. All patients aged ≥18 years with new shoulder complaints who consulted their general practitioner in 1998 were included, and were followed 10 years beyond the initial consultation.