Annemans L et al. - Failure to diagnose a true case of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is associated with excess general practitioner (GP) visits, investigations, and prescriptions. Methods
Aim was to evaluate the use and costs of medical resources before and after a diagnosis of FMS
An existing data set for medical resource use among pts with FMS was applied
Costs before diagnosis were used in a trend analysis to predict later costs
These predicted costs were compared with the observed costs after diagnosis
Results
Following a diagnosis of FMS, a decrease in costs vs. the predicted trend was observed
In the 4 yrs after diagnosis, the average difference between the predicted and observed cost was £66.21/6 mos/pt
This suggests that making the diagnosis leads to savings and a decrease in resource use
The main effect was observed for tests and imaging, followed by pharmaceuticals, referrals, and GP visits
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