ABSTRACT
The commonest approach to the question of identification of psychosocial problems by the general practitioner (GP) is to assess patients’ symptoms or problems by a standardized technique and to compare this assessment with the GP’s own clinical judgement. Comparison between a standardized questionnaire score and the GP’s clinical assessment of the patient’s condition usually suggests a large measure of under-reporting by the practitioner. Some important objections can, however, be made to this approach. Additional information is required about the character of the patient’s complaints presented to the GP and the development of their symptoms over time. In the Netherlands, GPs have registered-patient lists. To obtain reliable information on the population at risk, including its distribution by sex, age, marital status, social class and educational level, a census has been taken and basic data collected for the entire population.
