Alcoholism: the missed diagnosis.

Physicians fail to recognize the early signs and symptoms of alcoholism in their patients. This results in delays in the proper diagnosis and treatment for alcoholism, the underlying cause for many common complaints. Reasons for missing the diagnosis include inadequate education opportunities for physicians in the field of chemical dependency, the physician's attitude toward alcoholics, and the alcoholic's own denial of his addiction. There are steps that physicians can take to increase their ability to identify alcoholism as the underlying cause of the patient's complaint.