Longer initial assessment in primary care when depression is suspected

Symptoms of depression is a common cause for patients consulting general practitioners in primary care. To be able to correctly diagnose depression at the initial assessment a thorough and thus time-consuming examination is needed. The assessment also needs to be documented with a test questionnaire. This is to understand the severity but also to initiate a relevant treatment and to plan the follow up.

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SBU Enquiry Service

Responds to queries received from Swedish healthcare and social service providers, or governmental organisations. Queries have a limited scope and the process is designed to enable a more rapid response, typically within two to three months. Reports are based on systematic reviews, that are identified through structured searches and critically appraised for risk of bias.

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Search term(s)

Depression symptom

Question

Are there any scientific studies that support that a longer initial assessment results in less pharmacological treatment and faster rehabilitation when depression is suspected?

The complete Enquiry response is published in Swedish. Click on ”På svenska” in the top menu to read it.

Literature search

Literature search.pdf

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