¿Es suficiente la base moral de los médicos? / Moral judgment of physicians is insufficient as a framework for medical ethics

Physicians values are largely supported by a socio-cultural moral basis, also known as "classical utilitarianism". Technological advances and social questions to physicians show their paucity of an ethical conceptualization in medicine. A new way of approaching ethical conflicts in medicine should be constructed. Training should promote ethical reflection about these conflicts and about the actions of physicians. Ontogenetic and phylogenetic research on human nature, and the advances in moral psychology, could allow us to understand the construction of our judgment of values. An introspective emotional and rational effort to understand "how we are" and from there, to "how we act" lacks among physicians. This issue is even more complex in a political-social model which does not stimulate this type of analysis. The university space is a privileged opportunity to educate. The student must be envisioned as a human being whose professional acts should consider the needs of our society, aiming at a new ethical conceptualization in medicine.

Evaluación del resultado de las acciones de detección, diagnóstico y tratamiento del Episodio Depresivo realizada en pacientes consultantes en el primer nivel de atención de la Provincia de Concepción, Chile / Evaluation of the results of the actions of detection, diagnosis and treatment of the Depressive Episode carried out in patients attended in primary care from the Province of Concepción, Chile

Resumen El Ministerio de Salud de Chile implementó, a partir del año 2001, el programa de tratamiento de la depresión en la Atención Primaria en Salud (APS). Objetivo general: Evaluar el resultado de las acciones de detección, diagnóstico y tratamiento del episodio depresivo realizadas en consultantes del primer nivel de atención de la Provincia de Concepción, Chile. Método: Seguimiento de seis meses de muestra aleatoria de usuarios consultantes por morbilidad general en centros APS Provincia de Concepción, Chile. Se ingresaron al estudio 307 usuarios, con diagnóstico positivo de depresión (DSM-IV), usando la entrevista psiquiátrica estructurada Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 (CIDI). Se realizaron análisis de regresión logística binaria y ordinal para predecir la detección del trastorno, el tipo de tratamiento aplicado y el curso de la enfermedad a partir de las variables sociodemográficas, clínicas y de estructura. Resultados: La prevalencia de seis meses de depresión fue de 16.7% (n = 431), previo criterios de exclusión. Los médicos detectaron el 31,6% de los casos, existiendo marcadas diferencias por centro. En su mayoría las intervenciones fueron de tipos psicosociales (18,6%), seguidas por las farmacológicas(9,4%) y un 3,6% con ambos tipos. Al cabo de seis meses, el diagnóstico había remitido en un 60.7% de los usuarios. Sin embargo, esta evolución no estaba asociada a las intervenciones recibidas, ni al diagnóstico previo, sino a variables personales de los usuarios. Conclusiones: La capacidad de detección de los profesionales en APS es baja, las intervenciones son escasas y no parecen incidir sobre la evolución del diagnóstico.

The Chilean Ministry of Health implemented since 2001 the program for treating depression in primary health care (PCH). General objective: To evaluate the result of detection, diagnostic and treatment of depressive episodes performed by consultants of the first level of care in the Province of Concepción, Chile. Method: Follow-up of six months of a random sample of users consulting for general morbidity in PHC of the Province of Concepción, Chile. A total of 307 users with positive diagnosis of depression (DSM-IV) using the psychiatric structured Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 (CIDI) were admitted to the study. Regression analyses, binary and ordinal logistic were performed to predict the detection of the disorder, the type of treatment applied and the course of the disease, from sociodemographic, clinical and structure variables. Results: The prevalence of six months of depression reached 16.5% (n=431), prior to exclusion criteria. Doctors detected the 31.6% of the cases, with significant differences per center. Most of the interventions were of the psychosocial type (18.6%), followed by pharmacological interventions (9.4%) and 3.6% of both types. After six months, the diagnosis had remitted in 60-7% of the users. However, this evolution was not linked to the interventions received or previous diagnosis, but to personal variables of the users. Conclusions: The detection capacity of the professionals in PHC is low, interventions are scarce and probably, the evolution of the diagnosis is not affected by the intervention.