December 21, 2017
Annual screening for depression is a best practice in patient care. We encourage you to use the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) annually to screen patients for depression. View PHQ 2 and PHQ 9 questionnaires.
About the PHQ-2
The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) is a quick and easily administered screening tool for major depressive disorders. Successful practices have implemented PHQ-2 as a routine screening to be completed at the patient's first visit of the year or at their yearly annual wellness or preventive exam.
If the patient answers yes to one or both of the PHQ-2 questions (link below), the patient should be further evaluated with the PHQ-9 to determine whether they meet criteria for a major depressive disorder.
If an adult patient requires an antidepressant, regular follow up appointments should be provided (minimally at 12 weeks and 6 months after starting an antidepressant) and tracked for improvement using PHQ-9 score. Adolescents on antidepressants should be seen weekly when they begin taking medication or when doses are increased.
Annual screening for depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) endorses screening for depression starting at age 12. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) supports this endorsement by paying for depression screening annually for patients on Medicare.