title: Taking responsibility for the early assessment and treatment of patients with musculoskeletal pain: a review and critical analysis.
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.
authors.affiliation: Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK. n.foster@keele.ac.uk
authors.forename: Nadine E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hartvigsen
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Croft
mesh_terms: D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D026882:Manipulation, Chiropractic / Q000379:methods; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005791:Patient Care / Q000379:methods; D057240:Patient Preference; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D012017:Referral and Consultation