REVISION DATE: MARCH 2016 / SEVENTEENTH EDITION
Guideline Summary
This guideline, Depression, Adults in Primary Care, summarizes evidence-based practices for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow up of adult patients with depression in primary care.
The purpose of this guideline is to assist primary care in developing systems that support effective assessment, diagnosis and ongoing management of initial and recurrent major depression and persistent depressive disorders in adults age 18 years and over, and assist patients to achieve remission of symptoms, reduce relapse and return to previous level of functioning. This guideline does not address the pediatric population. Diagnoses with significant overlap of symptoms outside the scope of this guideline include anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder and bipolar disorder.