PHQ-9 Depression Screening

The PHQ-9 Depression Screening form digitizes the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the most widely used standardized instrument for screening and monitoring depression severity. The nine items assess the frequency of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks, scored on a 0-3 scale (not at all, several days, more than half the days, nearly every day).

The digital version automatically calculates the total score and provides severity interpretation: minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-19), and severe (20-27). This structured scoring eliminates manual calculation errors and provides instant clinical decision support, recommending appropriate clinical actions based on the score range.

The form includes the critical ninth question about self-harm and suicidal ideation, with conditional logic that flags positive responses for immediate clinical review. Additional context questions capture whether the patient is currently in treatment, taking antidepressant medication, and functional impairment level. This template is used in primary care annual screening, behavioral health intake, medication management follow-up, and clinical research. It meets USPSTF screening recommendations and CMS quality measure requirements.