Depression in primary care. Why do we miss the diagnosis?
Depressed patients are often undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or underdiagnosed. Is this because family physicians are trained mainly to treat somatic complaints? Are patients reluctant to accept psychological causes for their physical symptoms? High volume of patients and short visits make it difficult for doctors to recognize depression. We propose strategies for identifying depressed patients in primary care.
Lemelin
J
J
Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa.
Hotz
S
S
Swensen
R
R
Elmslie
T
T
D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care