Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2001 Feb 5;174(3):144-6.
doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143189.x.

Do doctors know best? Comments on a failed trial

C J Hunt  1 , L M Shepherd, G Andrews
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Do doctors know best? Comments on a failed trial

C J Hunt et al. Med J Aust. .

Abstract

A randomised controlled trial was planned to compare two different treatment strategies--structured problem solving and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication--for patients with mild to moderate major depression. The trial was to be conducted in the primary care setting with all treatment given by general practitioners. When no patients had been recruited into the study after six months, we performed an audit of all patients with depressive symptoms attending the doctors' practices over three weeks. Exclusion criteria were changed to ease entry into the trial, but still no patients were recruited over the following six months. What went wrong?

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • GPs can not use randomisation for their own patients.
    Nelson MR. Nelson MR. Med J Aust. 2001 May 21;174(10):542; author reply 544. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143414.x. Med J Aust. 2001. PMID: 11419780 No abstract available.
  • The ethics of recruitment.
    Pearn JH. Pearn JH. Med J Aust. 2001 May 21;174(10):542; author reply 544. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143415.x. Med J Aust. 2001. PMID: 11419781 No abstract available.
  • Depression is complex and heterogeneous.
    Ellard JH. Ellard JH. Med J Aust. 2001 May 21;174(10):543-4. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143418.x. Med J Aust. 2001. PMID: 11419782 No abstract available.
  • Medications are more heavily promoted than psychotherapies.
    Wilson IG. Wilson IG. Med J Aust. 2001 May 21;174(10):543; author reply 544. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143416.x. Med J Aust. 2001. PMID: 11419783 No abstract available.
  • Doctors could know better.
    Bolton PG, Parker SM, Fergusson KJ, Orman JD. Bolton PG, et al. Med J Aust. 2001 May 21;174(10):543; author reply 544. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143417.x. Med J Aust. 2001. PMID: 11419784 No abstract available.

Publication types

Substances