Simplifying physicians' response to domestic violence

Simplifying physicians' response to domestic violencePhysicians are called on, through guidelines such as those published by the American Medical Association in 1992, 1 to play a large role in identifying, intervening in, and following up on cases of partner abuse.Yet, even the first step of intervention, screening, is difficult for most physicians.Victims are still not asked about abuse in their relationships and are not receiving the health care they need. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Physicians want to help victims of domestic violence but face complex barriers to doing so.One way to increase physicians' effectiveness in this area is to clearly define and limit their role in intervening with victims.