Routine screening for depression, alcohol problems, and domestic violence.

Evidence Summary During routine office visits, primary care physicians are expected to efficiently and effectively screen their patients for common, important conditions. Routine screening for depression is recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) as long as systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up.1 The USPSTF also recommends screening for problem drinking.2 The evidence regarding screening for domestic violence is insufficient for the USPSTF to make a recommendation,3 but physicians may wish to build screening for domestic violence into their routine care of patients. Because the typical visit includes three problem conditions and eight care decisions,4 it is a challenge to add these screening tasks. Fortunately, primary care researchers have developed useful and highly practical screening tools that can be administered by physicians or selfadministered by patients. These initial screening questions all require confirmation by the physician using a detailed POINT-OF-CARE GUIDES