Frequent attendance and the concordance between PHQ screening and GP assessment in the detection of common mental disorders

- The profile of frequent attenders (FAs) suggests they have greater needs than others.
- GP Detection of PHQ-estimated mental disorders is higher in FAs than other attenders.
- “Over-detection” of PHQ negative cases is also higher in FAs than other attenders.
- “Over-detection” could lead to excessive prescriptions of psychotropic medication.