Physical or Phychological? Three case reports from the Community Medicine Clinic

Abstract

Family physicians have to analyse their patients' physical and psychological problems simultaneously. Three cases are described from the Community Medicine Clinic, or Klinik Perubatan Masyarakat (KPM), Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), to illustrate different relationships between physical and psychological problems. The first is a 61 - yearold male who had both diabetes mellitus and bipolar affective disorder. The second is a 53 - year-old female with asthma who complained of tiredness, which was initially suspected to have psychological cause, but which in fact was caused by dilated cardiomyopathy. The third is a 52-year-old female with a long-standing anxious personality who developed thyrotoxicosis. The holistic nature of family medicine has implications for medical education, and these are discussed.