RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Initial assessment of patients with putative functional disorders in medical settings
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 8
OP 12
DO 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0832
VO 21
IS 1
A1 Peter Tyrer
A1 Charles Fox
A1 Catherine Gardiner
A1 Roger Mulder
A1 Helen Tyrer
YR 2021
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/1/8.abstract
AB Patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of functional disorder are very frequent in practice. While it is always necessary to exclude treatable organic pathology, there are important clues in the presentation that can help the clinician. In particular, it is important to identify pathological health anxiety early in assessment, as failure to do so may lead to unnecessary investigations and the dangerous path of reinforcing reassurance. Because full assessment of functional symptoms takes time, it is suggested that a clinical support nurse with some training in psychological management should be available to guide the management of the patients with these disorders. Such support nurses, based in the clinic, offer a seamless way of providing care that is not achieved by external referral to psychologists or equivalent staff.