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Welcome
Physician |
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…programs
to improve the detection, treatment and follow-up of psychiatric
illness, especially by family physicians, offer the greatest
potential of reducing suicide rates.
Mortensen,
P.B., et al. (2000). Psychiatric illness and risk factors
for suicide in Denmark. Lancet, 355, 9-12.
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Suicide
prevention is everybody's business, especially primary care
physicians. There are times when as a primary care physician
you are called upon to determine a patient's risk for suicide.
The more comprehensive clinical term, suicidality, addresses
issues related to ideation, plans, suicide attempts, and survivors
of loved ones who have completed suicide. You have the potential
to see these patients on any given day in your office practice,
as persons at risk for suicide may gain access to you by presenting
with a different set of symptoms. You will need to be vigilant
to assess for suicidality.
The
statistics related to suicide screening and prevention among
primary care physicians can be misleading. Only 4.2% of all
definite or possible suicides are attributed to primary care
patients. That translates into one person dying by suicide
every three years among primary care physicians with patient
loads of among 2,000-4,000 (Reference 1).
However,
research has also shown that only 27% of all patients diagnosed
as depressed received that diagnosis from their primary care
physician. Furthermore, other studies indicate that as many
as 50% of all cases of clinical depression remain undiagnosed.
These conflicting findings indicate that there are missed opportunities
in primary care medicine to diagnose and intervene with persons
at risk for suicide. |
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| References
for Physician Introduction |
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| Find
information on associated factors and information for Physicians
to further understand the behaviors and feelings that can lead
to suicidal thoughts and actions. |
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| What
to do to help as a Physician |
| Find
information on what steps to take as a Physician to provide
or get someone needed help. |
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| What
education is available for a Physician
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| Find
varied and specialized resources for Physicians to enhance their
knowledge of and training in suicide prevention. |
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| What
researchers are doing of interest to Physicians
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| Physicians
can find relevant and current information on suicide and suicide
prevention research projects as well as research findings that
can help in working with people at risk or advocating for new
research efforts. |
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| What
other resources are available for Physicians
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| Locate
resources that are specific to Physicians and the general topic
of suicide prevention. |
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| Physician as intermediary
pages were last updated May 3, 2004 |
