[Role of the family physician in treatment of alcoholic patients].

In Western countries alcohol is a socially accepted drug and its use is on the increase. Accordingly, the number of alcoholics is also increasing. An important task of the general practitioner is first to recognize that a patient has a drinking problem, and then to help him/her to acknowledge and come to terms with the situation. Additionally he must motivate the patients to accept the need for suitable treatment and initiate it. Prevention of alcoholism, however, is not a matter of the medical profession alone, but is first and foremost a problem of our society. For a remedial approach to be effective, interdisciplinary cooperation between internists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers is a must, and here the general practitioner has a coordinating function to fulfill.