Depression is being over-diagnosed because GPs are too reliant on a “basic” questionnaire designed by a pharmaceutical company (Pfizer) which also manufacturers psychiatric drugs, campaigners have warned, as reported in the Daily Telegraph.
The easy-to-use nine-question form sets the threshold for the condition “far too low” and results in patients being wrongly diagnosed and medicated, according an expert at the Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry.
The PHQ-9 Patient Health Questionnaire was developed by academics funded by Pfizer, which owned the intellectual property and distribution rights.
For most of the last 20 years, a chart will have been present in virtually every GP consulting room …
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