Mastering Medical Issues in Psychiatric Practice: A Comprehensive Handbook

Patients with severe mental illness often face substantial morbidity due to various factors, including poverty, substandard medical care, social neglect or withdrawal, and unhealthy lifestyle choices. The unexpected and severe medical deteriorations in these patients can be particularly challenging to evaluate, especially in the context of psychotic disorders.

A Realistic Approach to Medical Issues in Psychiatry

The updated and streamlined Handbook of Medicine in Psychiatry serves as a valuable resource for clinicians, providing a realistic approach to addressing medical issues encountered in psychiatric practice. This handbook helps clinicians answer critical questions, such as:

• Is the patient at risk of dying or becoming severely disabled?
• Does the patient require an immediate therapeutic intervention for a potentially life-threatening condition?
• Should the patient be transferred to an emergency medicine setting?
• Are urgent investigations necessary?
• Must changes be made to the current medication regimen?

Clinical vignettes throughout the handbook illustrate the complexity of presenting abnormal vital signs and somatic disorders in psychiatric settings, including fever, hypertension, seizures, and nausea and vomiting. These real-world examples aid clinicians in accurate decision making in uncertain conditions.

Risk Stratification for Major Complications

The handbook provides essential risk stratification for major complications, such as:

• Abnormal thyroid function
• Acute kidney injury
• Myocarditis
• Venothromboembolism

This enables readers to determine the need for transferring patients to an emergency medicine setting, ensuring timely and effective care.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Psychiatric Care

A new section of the handbook features in-depth discussions on topics requiring interdisciplinary collaboration with:

• Geriatricians
• Neurologists
• Anesthesiologists
• Addiction medicine specialists
• Adolescent medicine specialists

This comprehensive resource provides clinicians working in busy inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings with a cognitive framework and knowledge base to aid accurate decision making in the face of potentially major medical deteriorations.

Product Details:

Published by: American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Revised edition: March 5, 2020
Language: English
Pages: 625
ISBN-10: 1615372288
ISBN-13: 978-1615372287