A shared care approach to the management of erectile dysfunction in the community

Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects men of all ages and results in considerable distress and impact on quality of life for those who suffer from it. As ED is associated with a wide variety of under-lying conditions and cardiovascular co-morbidities, there is a requirement for diversity of treatment options and several factors must be considered to customise and optimise therapy. In the ideal holistic approach to management of the ED patient, both primary care and specialist physicians have an important role to play. This article reports on a sequential approach for the diagnosis and treatment of ED, with an emphasis on 'shared care'. The deliberations are based on a pan-European inter-disciplinary group that met at the Lygon Arms, UK on 22 February 2002.