Family physicians' and internists' consideration of psychosocial hypotheses during the diagnostic process.

D. E. Simpson, D. K. Gjerdingen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study compared the psychosocial hypotheses generated by 12 internists and 12 family physicians as they reviewed three patient presentations with diagnoses of congestive heart failure, common duct stone, and sick sinus syndrome. Family physicians, compared to internists, produced a significantly higher proportion of psychosocial hypotheses on two of the three cases. Diagnoses considered more frequently by family physicians included anxiety, anxiety-depression, psychogenic pain, alcoholism, and other alcohol-related diseases. These results are consistent with the findings of previous studies reporting that family physicians attend to psychosocial problems to a greater degree than do internists.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)55-61
Number of pages7
JournalThe Family practice research journal
Volume8
Issue number2
StatePublished - 1989
Externally publishedYes

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