Low impact consultations were not common, although symptoms indicative of a potentially serious condition resulted in a higher proportion of low impact consultations.
However, only 14% of the 254 low impact consultations occurred for potentially serious symptoms, while nearly half (45%) of all low impact consultations occurred for common minor self-limiting symptoms (reflecting potentially inappropriate behaviour).
For each of the individual symptoms investigated (with the exception of blood in stool) the proportion of high impact non-consultations was larger than the proportion of low impact consultations.
In our study there were no clear differences in the proportion of physical and psychological symptoms resulting in low impact consultations.
Two examples of incongruous consultation behaviours are: i) consultation with a GP for symptoms self-rated as low impact (designated here as "low impact consultations") and ii) no consultation with a GP for symptoms self-rated as high impact (designated here as "high impact non-consultations").
Low impact consultations for symptoms that the respondent thought indicated a potentially serious condition which warranted medical attention regardless of its level of severity or interference with daily activities probably constitutes appropriate behaviour.
In addition, low impact consultations may place an unnecessary burden on busy healthcare systems, possibly resulting in delays to services for those with symptoms suggestive of more serious disease.
Low impact consultations were those associated with symptoms self-rated by respondents as low severity (1-3 on the standard 5-point severity scale) and causing no or little interference (1-3 on the standard 5-point interference scale) and which resulted in a GP consultation.
