If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  GPs Better Than Psychiatrists In Dealing With Drug Abuse LONDON -- September 5, 1997 -- GPs are better placed to look after drug addicts than are psychiatrists, says a paper in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ). The author, a clinical director from Glasgow, says that GPs have the knowledge, the skills, and the appropriate attitudes to manage drug misusers, particularly since "most people with drug problems are not mad". Psychiatrists who limit themselves to treating patients with a dependence syndrome will fail to deal with the physical consequences of drug misuse, says the author. "Doctors also need to listen to hearts and feel for spleens, and sensibly interpret the findings." Many GPs now play a pivotal part in the management of drug misusers; for example, almost a quarter of practices in Glasgow now run drug misuse clinics, and the number of patients using methadone has risen tenfold over the past five years. "Perhaps it is more important that doctors looking after drug misusers have the correct attributes for the task rather than a particular job title," concludes the author.
|
