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January 10, 2008

Survey finds many primary-care physicians may overlook depression, mental illness in elderly

The New York Times (1/8, F6, Nagourney) reports that in the new study Two-Minute Mental Health Care for Elderly Patients: Inside Primary Care Visits, which appears in the December issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers suggest many primary-care physicians "may devote too little time" to discussing depression and other mental illnesses with the elderly.

During the study, "researchers reviewed videotapes of 385 appointments with elderly patients in three separate areas," and "found the median time spent discussing mental health was just two minutes." Led by Ming Tai-Seale, Ph.D., MPH, of the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M, the research team found that the subject of mental health "came up in about a fifth of the visits over all." However, over "half the patients whose survey responses suggested they were depressed never spoke with their doctors at all about their emotional state."

The study also found that "even when patients let their doctors know about their problems," the "responses were often ineffective or worse."

Posted by admin at January 10, 2008 12:37 AM