| Doctors Often Fail to Spot Suicidal Patients |
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Pointing to a disconnect between doctors and some of their neediest
patients, a new study suggests that large numbers of physicians fail to
spot symptoms that raise suicide risk.
U.S. researchers recruited actresses to act as patients and visit physicians while showing signs of depression or a similar disorder. Only 36 percent of the doctors asked the "patients" about suicidal thoughts, the team found. "There is often a window of opportunity for doctors to screen for suicidality and intervene appropriately, but, as we found, they frequently miss this opportunity," said study lead author Dr. Mitchell Feldman, professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco.
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