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The Blues: Now and Forever More?
Marjorie A. Bowman, MD, MPA
Arch Fam Med. 1995;4(2):95-96.
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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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WE FAMILY PHYSICIANS are recurrently told that we underdiagnose and undertreat depression. I am sure it is true. Some of it is our "fault," but there are many other complexities involving physicians, patients, society, and medications that contribute to how we recognize and treat depression. The studies of Simon and VonKorff1 and Schulberg et al2 provide new insights on aspects of this underrecognition and undertreatment.
The Simon and VonKorff study1 could be called the rule of two thirds. Two thirds of the patients with major depression in a health maintenance organization were recognized as such by their family physicians; two thirds of patients with recognized depression were treated by medication and/or a mental health therapist; two thirds of those treated with antidepressants were treated adequately by duration and dose criteria; and two thirds of the depressed patients, recognized or unrecognized, were well 1 year later. The similarity
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
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