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Scott Sarran, MD
Lutheran General Hospital Park Ridge, III

JAMA. 1985;254(15):2061.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

In a recent JAMA article,¹ the authors made several generalizations regarding the discipline of family practice that need rebuttal.

First, the authors state that "family medicine programs do not have a strong basis in psychiatry." It is not our intent to duplicate the work of psychiatrists in caring for patients with chronic psychiatric disorders. However, it is clear from surveys of practicing physicians² and their patients³ that family physicians frequently deal with acute psychosocial and psychosomatic problems, offering "compassion, concern, and minor advice" to their patients' satisfaction.

The authors go on to state that "there has been little research in the field" (of family practice). A recent review⁴ described the continuing growth and development of a literature base relevant to family practice. Although it is true that much of the family practice literature published to date is descriptive and comparative rather than interventional, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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