Skip to content

PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)

Assess the presence and severity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms with this self-report questionnaire in Creyos Health

 

Get Sample Report  Get a Demo

PCL5 Hero

Benefits for Healthcare Providers

Gain valuable insight into patient well being and track meaningful change with the PCL-5 questionnaire and cognitive functioning tasks in Creyos Health.

Workflow-1

Simplified Administration

Administer the PCL-5 questionnaire, get real-time results, and track symptom severity through a user-friendly and flexible platform.

Access to Care

Increase Access to Care

Give patients the option to complete the PCL-5 in person or from the comfort of home to meet diverse needs.

Track Over Time

Track Meaningful Change

Detect meaningful changes in PTSD symptoms with a centralized patient health record that includes longitudinal data.

About 5% of American Adults Have PTSD in Any Given Year

Living with PTSD can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life. Learn how Creyos Health can simplify assessment and support treatment planning.

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

Get the Guide  Get a Demo

Source: National Center for PTSD

PCL Stat

Preview the Creyos PCL-5 Sample Report

The PCL-5 offered through Creyos is a 20-question self-assessment that measures a patient’s PTSD symptoms within the past month.

When administered alongside measures of cognitive performance, it offers clinicians:

  • A standardized, reliable, and valuable tool for screening individuals for PTSD
  • Automated scoring and reporting to easily monitor symptom change during and after treatment
  • Insights to support a provisional PTSD diagnosis

Get Sample Report  Get a Demo

PCL Report

How to Use the PCL-5 Questionnaire

Step 1: Help Patient Prepare

Patients can complete the PCL-5 questionnaire in person through the Creyos Health platform on an in-clinic device or at home through a provided link.

Step 2: Administer Questionnaire

In a series of 20 questions, the PCL-5 asks patients to evaluate PTSD symptoms within the past month.

Step 3: Access Automatic Results

Creyos Health automatically scores the patient’s results and provides a comprehensive report. A score of 31-33 or higher is indicative of PTSD.

Step 4: Discuss, Plan, and Reassess

Healthcare providers can discuss results with patients and plan for follow-up assessments to track meaningful change over time.

How to use PCL5

The Complex Relationship Between PTSD and Cognitive Health

Experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event can have a profound and long-lasting impact on a person’s life, and the World Health Organization estimates that nearly 4% of the global population has experienced PTSD at some point in their lives. This condition can significantly affect cognitive health, causing difficulties with concentration, memory, emotional processing, and executive functioning. Understanding PTSD symptoms is the key to treatment, and the PCL-5 in Creyos Health can help.

Source:  World Health Organization, 2024

Learn More

Simplify Patient PTSD Assessment and Management with Creyos

Administer the PCL-5, digitized behavioral health questionnaires, and online cognitive tasks—all in one platform.

How It Works  Get a Demo

Frequently asked questions

What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Symptoms of PTSD fall into four categories: intrusive thoughts and memories, avoidance, negative thoughts and feelings, and physical and emotional reactivity.

Where did the PCL-5 questionnaire come from?

The PCL-5 questionnaire was developed by Weathers et al. in 1993 to assess the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms based on DSM-5 criteria.

Who uses the PCL-5?

The PCL-5 is commonly used by primary care, mental health providers, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other healthcare professionals, organizations, researchers, and individuals to assess and measure PTSD symptom severity.

How is the PCL-5 scored?

The PCL-5 contains 20 questions that assess symptoms of PTSD within the last month on a scale from 0 (“not at all”) to 4 (“extremely”). The questionnaire can be scored in three ways. To calculate the total symptom severity score, providers sum the scores for all 20 items. To calculate cluster severity scores, providers sum the scores for items within each cluster: B (items 1-5), C (items 6-7), D (items 8-14), and E (items 15-20). Providers may also make a provisional PTSD diagnosis by counting items rated “moderately” or higher and applying the DSM-5 criteria: at least 1 B item, 1 C item, 2 D items, and 2 E items.

However, using a cutoff score often yields more reliable results. A total score of 31-33 or higher suggests the patient may benefit from PTSD treatment. A total score lower than 31-33 may indicate the patient does not meet the threshold or criteria for PTSD diagnosis, and providers should consider these results when planning additional assessment.

Source: National Center for PTSD

How does administration and scoring of the PCL-5 work in Creyos?

Administration is flexible and efficient; questionnaires can be administered by a mental health provider or technician, either in-clinic or emailed to the patient to be completed remotely. This flexibility allows providers to maximize their appointment time with patients, and reduce time spent on scoring or recording session notes.

When a patient completes the PCL-5 questionnaire, 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 PCL-5 evaluate?

The PCL-5 evaluates the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms, including trouble experiencing positive feelings, difficulty concentrating, unwanted memories, strong physical reactions in response to a stressful experience, strong negative feelings, irritable behavior or angry outbursts, strong negative beliefs, and trouble breathing or sleeping.

How can the PCL-5 questionnaire support patients?

The PCL-5 questionnaire should be used as a screening tool to assist primary care providers or other health professionals in understanding PTSD symptoms and monitoring severity over time. When paired with DSM-5 criteria for PTSD, the PCL-5 questionnaire can support provisional diagnosis.

However, any conclusions drawn from the PCL-5 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 PCL-5 not do?

Scores on the PCL-5 questionnaire may support provisional diagnosis of PTSD when interpreted using the DSM-5 criteria. However, results are primarily meant as an aid to quantify the presence of PTSD symptoms and measure severity over time.

Still Have Questions? Speak to our Product Experts

Read the Study