Primary care for depression

Depressive patients often visit a primary care physician due to various physical symptoms. Though it is necessary to differentiate organic diseases, it is also important to approach from a viewpoint of psychosocial background and psychiatric disorders. Especially, as mild depression is seen widely in general practice, early diagnosis and early treatment is essential for its good prognosis and medical economics. So, primary care physician is expected to understand its symptomatology and treat depressive patients appropriately. Finally, I want to say that the cooperation between primary physician and psychiatrist is important, because typical bipolar disorders and severe depressive patients should be refer to psychiatry clinic.