No of studies	Design	Risk of bias		Inconsistency		Indirectness [2]		Imprecision	Other [3]	Certainty (overall score) [4]
Outcome: mortality
8	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		The trials contributing to this estimate are quite varied (some focus on people with specific health issues and others on more generalist primary care attenders (‐1)		No serious indirectness		Wide CI that includes no effect (‐1)	None	Low (3)
Outcome: patient health status
Clinical outcomes (3) Self‐reported measurements (13)	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Some studies: effect varies between trials (‐0.5)		No serious indirectness		Some studies: wide CI (‐0.5)	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: physical function
3	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Effect varies between trials. (‐1)		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderrate (3)
Outcome: pain
2	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		Only patients with rheumatoid arthritis were included (‐1).		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: systolic blood pressure
3	Randomised trials	High risk of bias in 1 out of 3 studies (‐1)		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: diastolic blood pressure
2	Randomised trials	High risk of bias in 1 out of 2 studies (‐1)		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: total cholesterol
2	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	High (4)
Outcome: HbA1C
2	Randomised trials	High risk of bias in 1 out of 2 studies (‐1)		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: DAS
2	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		Only patients with rheumatoid arthritis were included. (‐1)		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: satisfaction and preference
7	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: quality of life
6	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias	Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		Wide CI that includes no effect (‐1)		None	Low (2)
Outcome: process of care ‐ no GRADE due to no pooled analyses and a wide range of outcomes
Outcome: utilisation
19	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Some outcomes: important heterogeneity and effects that vary between trials (‐0.5)		No serious indirectness		Some outcomes: Wide CI (‐0.5)	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome: length of consultation
4	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	Moderate (3)
Outcome scheduled: return visits
3	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		Wide CI (‐1)	None	Low (2)
Outcome: attended return visits
4	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	High (4)
Outcome: prescriptions ordered
4	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	High (4)
Outcome: investigations
4	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		Wide CI (‐1)	None	Low (2)
Outcome: hospital referral
5	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		Important heterogeneity (‐1)		No serious indirectness		Wide CI (‐1)	None	Low (2)
Outcome: attendance at A&E
6	Randomised trials	No serious risk of bias		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		No serious imprecision	None	High (4)
Outcome: hospital admission
3	Randomised trials	High risk of bias in 1 out of 3 studies (‐1).		No serious inconsistency		No serious indirectness		Wide CI (‐1)	None	Low (2)
Outcome: costs ‐ no grade since the types of costs assessed varied widely and a range of different approaches were used to value resources and calculate costs