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Patient Health Questionnaire
(PHQ-9)

A proven tool for assessing and managing depression symptoms to help plan treatments

 

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Benefits for Healthcare Providers

Enhance mental health services with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), digitized through the Creyos Health platform for convenience, efficiency, and accuracy.

Accessible

More Accessible Testing

Facilitate early detection, ongoing monitoring, and effective treatment  for patients with depression—in the clinic or at home.

Workflow-1

Workflow Efficiency

Streamline assessments with a standardized tool, delivered digitally through the Creyos Health platform, with automated scoring and reports.

Analytics

Advanced Analytics

Access actionable insights in real time with direct integration between patient results and EHRs to enable long-term tracking of symptoms.

Connect the Dots Between Cognitive and Mental Health

Get a complete understanding of patients’ needs. Administer behavioral health questionnaires and measure the cognitive impacts of mental health conditions—all in one platform.

Review our guide below for a complete list of standardized questionnaires available in Creyos.

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Connect the Dots

The Link Between Depression and Cognition

One new study (Desai et al., 2020) showed that depression, as measured by the PHQ-9, predicted both current and future scores on Creyos cognitive tasks. The reverse was also true—poor cognitive functioning is a risk factor for future depression.

For those treating mental health, both PHQ-9 scores and cognitive task scores are key measures that can identify baseline risk, refine treatments, and demonstrate the wide-ranging success of your care.

Read the Article

Preview the Creyos PHQ-9 Sample Report

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) offered through Creyos is a nine-question self-assessment that measures the presence and severity of depressive symptoms over time. It offers patients and clinicians:

  • Reliability and validity, backed by extensive research and endorsed by national mental health organizations [1]
  • Automated scoring and reporting for easy administration
  • Flexibility to conduct in person or remotely

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PHQ9 Report

How to Use the PHQ-9

Step 1: Explain the Purpose

Clearly communicate to the patient that the PHQ-9 is a confidential tool designed to help them understand their mental health.

Step 2: Administer Questionnaire

For in-clinic patients, launch the PHQ-9 in Creyos and hand the device to the patient to complete the questionnaire. For at-home administration, send the link to the patient to complete remotely.

Step 3: Review Results

Automatically receive questionnaire results directly in the Creyos platform and review with the patient.

Step 4: Discuss Results

Explain the meaning of the score and discuss next steps, such as additional assessments or treatment options.

Steps-1

Improve Patient Outcomes with Creyos Health

Find out how our digitized behavioral health questionnaires can support mental and cognitive health assessment.

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Supporting Healthy Minds with Creyos Health

A primary care practice launched its Healthy Minds initiative using the PHQ-9 alongside Creyos Health cognitive tasks to measure both cognitive function and depressive symptoms among patients, leading to increased patient engagement and care utilization.

The Healthy Mind visit, with a focus on mental and cognitive health, was successful in reaching patients who may not have otherwise sought care and supported positive clinical outcomes including early identification and treatment of depression and increased health confidence
Source: Buchanan A.L., Kotecha R., 2024

Frequently asked questions

Where did the PHQ-9 come from?

The 9-item version of the Patient Health Questionnaire was developed and validated in 2001 based on materials from Pfizer, and has since been used extensively to support the evaluation and diagnosis of mental health disorders.

Which organizations have endorsed the PHQ-9?

The American Psychological Association (APA), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the American Psychiatric Association have all suggested the Patient Health Questionnaire for use in enhancing clinical decision-making.

Who uses the PHQ-9?

Most commonly used by mental health professionals in clinical settings, a wide array of other healthcare providers, such as primary care physicians, also administer the Patient Health Questionnaire.

How is the PHQ-9 scored?

Patients are prompted with the following question: “How often have you been bothered by the following over the past 2 weeks?” They then respond to nine questions on a scale of 0 (“Not at all”) to 4 (“Nearly every day”). The total number is calculated to assess the severity of depressive symptoms.

How does administration and scoring of the PHQ-9 work in Creyos?

When a patient completes the PHQ-9, providers get immediate insights through easy-to-read reports that combine questionnaire data with cognitive test results for a full picture of patient brain health. Creyos can also use APIs to integrate with a variety of electronic health systems (EHR) and has a built-in integration with athenahealth. Our platform automatically collects, scores, and organizes results from each questionnaire and adds them to the patient’s EHR. 

What symptoms does the PHQ-9 evaluate?

The Patient Health Questionnaire considers depressive symptoms, including: experiencing little interest or pleasure; prolonged feelings of sadness, depressed mood, or hopelessness; trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping longer than usual; feeling tired or having little energy; poor appetite or overeating; having low self-esteem; trouble concentrating on things; moving or speaking abnormally slowly or quickly; and suicidal ideation.

What can the PHQ-9 do to support patients?

The Patient Health Questionnaire should be used as a screening tool to assist primary care providers or mental health professionals in quantifying depressive symptoms and monitoring depression severity over time. Any conclusions drawn from the PHQ-9 should be paired with further assessment, such as clinical interviews and observations, additional mental health examinations or assessments, and evaluations of the patient’s level of distress, functional impairment, and/or family history.

What can the PHQ-9 not do?

While high scores are correlated with a diagnosis of major depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire is not a diagnostic tool on its own. It is a multipurpose tool for screening, identifying, monitoring, and measuring the presence and severity of depressive symptoms over time.

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