Patients with HIV consult their GP on a similar scale to the wider population, a large retrospective cohort study has found. The study used data from the UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD), which involved 348 practices, yielding 5,504 person-years of follow up for known HIV-positive individuals. Using the data that were available for a total of 1,438 men and 751 women recorded as HIV positive, the following were estimated: GP and nurse consultation rates for HIV patients compared with rates for the GP-registered population; the cost of GP and nurse consultations; consultation rates for selected morbidities and the proportion of prescriptions in 2005 that included a medication considered to present potential for serious adverse interactions with HIV medications. [With external links to current evidence]