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Physician Attitudes, Beliefs, and TrainingA Partial Solution?
Michael L. Parchman, MD
Arch Fam Med. 1993;2(10):1031-1032.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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WHY IS depression so difficult to diagnose? It is a common disease that afflicts as many as 10% to 30% of the patients we see every day in our offices. It wreaks havoc on the health status of millions of our fellow citizens. Its cost is high, in terms of dollars, disability, and death.1,2 The diagnosis should not be that difficult to make with an adequate history and examination, and it usually does not require an expensive workup or hospitalization. Treatment is rather straightforward, and we have a large variety of therapies from which to choose. Moreover, treatment is effective in the vast majority of cases without referral to a specialist. Unfortunately, when patients with this illness present to their family physicians, their conditions have less than a 50/50 chance of receiving the correct diagnosis.3
Depressive disorders remain the Rodney Danger-field of family practice. They go unrecognized
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
Author Affiliations
Indiana University Indianapolis
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