[From patient screening to management list in suicide risk. Practical guideline for dealing with depression]

Despite the fact that effective treatments are available, only a minority of patients with depressive disorders receive appropriate care. The reasons are to be sought at the level of primary medical care, in public attitudes towards mental illness, in the patients themselves, and structural aspects of the health care system. A range of structural elements may be helpful in improving patient management at the primary care level--including the screening instrument WHO-5, recommendations for educating the patient about his/her illness, a list of measures aimed at preventing suicide, a plan of action and criteria for the interface family doctor/specialist, and support for the patient in coping with his/her problem.