In reply: It is pleasing to note that a senior psychiatrist is looking at the practicality of general practitioners (GPs) measuring the clinical outcome of patients with mental disorders. However, Dinnen's concerns may be groundless. For example, the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K10) consists of 10 simple questions that patients can complete in two minutes in the waiting room and doctors can then score by summing 10 numbers between one and five.1 This takes less time than writing a progress note.
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- 1. Resources for clinicians. Available at http://www.gpcare.org (accessed Sep 2002).
- 2. beyondblue: the national depression initiative. Available at http://www.beyondblue.org.au (accessed Sep 2002).
- 3. Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative. Available at http://www.mentalhealth.gov.au (accessed Sep 2002).