Course director(s): Francis Creed (Manchester, United Kingdom) 14.15 - 17.45, Hilton - Salon Orff

It is well recognised that up to a quarter of patients attending general medical facilities have anxiety or depressive disorders. These disorders lead to impaired outcome of the medical disorder. Inexperienced psychiatrists may invite an excessive number of referrals to the liaison psychiatry service unless a good "filter" is used. The participants will learn the strengths and weaknesses of using a screening instrument to detect psychiatric disorders in medical populations. The participants will be given the results of a two phase survey, which included 270 consecutive medical inpatients. They will work in smaU groups to decide how to implement a liaison psychiatry service that will answer the needs of the most severely depressed patients but without inviting an enormous number of referrals of patients who show mild distress only. Videotapes will be used to show clinical vignettes, which indicate the importance of depressive disorders in medical populations so that participants are aware of the advantages of detecting and treating depressive disorders in this population. A second round of small group discussions will be focussed on practical steps needed to establish a practical mode of referral to the liaison psychiatrist working in the general hospital or primary care. This will include a discussion of the different modes of referral and ways of enhancing physician's or GP's skills in treating depression.