Frequent attendance and the concordance between PHQ screening and GP assessment in the detection of common mental disorders

Frequent attendance (FA) in general practice is associated with excessive and often unjustified service use [1], thus placing considerable burden on the health care system [2 –4]. Mental disorders are one of the most frequent causes of FA. Frequent attenders (FAs) have been shown to have higher rates of depression [5–7], anxiety [8], and somatoform disorders [6,9–11], which are commonly referred to as common mental disorders (CMDs) [12]. They are also prescribed mo re psychotropic medication [9,13].

Source: Journal of Psychosomatic Research - April 11, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: J. Norton, A. Oude Engberink, C. Gandubert, A. Macgregor, M. David, A. Mann, K. Ritchie, M.L. Ancelin, D. Capdevielle Source Type: research