Journal article
Physician recognition of hypochondriacal patients
General hospital psychiatry, Vol.18(2), pp.106-112
1996
DOI: 10.1016/0163-8343(95)00122-0
PMID: 8833579
Abstract
To examine primary care physician recognition of hypochondriacal patients, we identified a series of such patients in a general medicine clinic using the Whiteley Index. Clinic physicians made blind global ratings of severity of physical disease and unreasonable fear of illness (hypochondriasis) and completed a checklist of somatizing characteristics. Patient records were audited for diagnoses, laboratory tests, consultations, and medications prescribed. Twenty-nine (14%) of 210 patients scored above an established cutoff on the Whiteley Index. These hypochondriacal patients were rated by clinic physicians as more hypochondriacal and were more often given psychiatric diagnoses. Also, clinic physicians identified more somatizing features among hypochondriacal patients including their own reaction to them. This recognition of hypochondriacal characteristics may have contributed to better management but may need to be raised to the diagnostic level for maximum benefit.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Physician recognition of hypochondriacal patients
- Creators
- Terri T Gerdes - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USARussell Noyes - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USARoger G Kathol - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USABrenda M Phillips - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USAMary M Fisher - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USAMaria Angeles Morcuende - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USAStephen J Yagla - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- General hospital psychiatry, Vol.18(2), pp.106-112
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/0163-8343(95)00122-0
- PMID
- 8833579
- ISSN
- 0163-8343
- eISSN
- 1873-7714
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1996
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry
- Record Identifier
- 9984003425202771
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