Simple Waiting Room Test Can Help Diagnose Depression and Anxiety

A new study in General Hospital Psychiatry finds patients visiting the hospital for a variety of ailments can be easily screened for depression and anxiety as they wait for care, information that can then be sent immediately to their doctor to address.

Researchers at King's College London University piloted an electronic questionnaire with patients in six specialty services in three London hospitals: rheumatology, limb reconstruction, hepatitis C, psoriasis, congenital heart disease and chronic pain. Patients were asked to complete questions on a wireless touch-screen device while in the waiting room. The test included questions about depression and anxiety, as well as physical health outcomes and health behaviors. Results were immediately transmitted to the health care provider, who could then discuss them with the patient during the visit.

The study was done primarily to test the use of the device, which is part of a London-based initiative to facilitate integrated care, but also allowed researchers to evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Prevalence of probable depression ranged from 6.6 percent in patients with congenital heart disease to 60.9 percent in patients with chronic pain. Prevalence of probable anxiety ranged from 11.4 percent in patients with congenital heart disease to 25.1 percent in rheumatology patients.