Depression in Primary Care: Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment

This Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians contains excerpts from the Clinical Practice Guideline, Depression in Primary Care: Volumes 1 and 2. It was not designed to stand on its own. Practitioners should review the Clinical Practice Guideline carefully to become familiar with the diagnosis, differential diagnoses, and treatment options for patients with major depressive disorder and then use the Quick Reference Guide to help them remember the major decision points in diagnosing and treating major depressive disorder. If the information contained in these documents is insufficient to evaluate the condition of a particular patient, the practitioner is advised to seek a consultation. The Panel's inferences as to what is optimal patient care are not expected to apply to all patients or situations. Knowledge developed through research can only provide a starting point for approaching a particular patient. Algorithms and flow charts are not applicable in every case. They do, however, provide coarse road maps for managing certain patients. Practitioners must use their own judgment in adapting guidelines to particular patients.