Can primary care docs treat depression?

Michael Klinkman Photo: Martin Vloet

Most people with depression have no idea they have a mental illness. They just know they feel lousy, and they usually seek help from a family doctor or primary care physician. So how does a busy general practitioner, with an over-booked schedule and minimal training in psychiatry, diagnose and treat depression?

That’s where Michael Klinkman (M.D. 1982, Residency 1985) comes in. Klinkman develops and evaluates the most effective ways to treat patients with mental health problems in a primary care setting. He directs the U-M Health System’s participation in a $26-million national study under way in 13 research institutions called STAR*D, which is the largest clinical trial ever funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Its goal is to determine what to do if the first antidepressant prescribed by the physician fails to help the patient, which happens about 50 percent of the time.

“People who begin treatment for depression in the primary care setting are just as impaired as those who are treated initially by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist,” Klinkman says. “So it’s important that family physicians have valid treatment guidelines and effective support systems in place, so they can help their depressed patients.”

Also:

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