PHQ-9 Depression Screening: How Accurate Is This 9-Question Test?
How accurate is the PHQ-9 depression screening tool?
The PHQ-9 correctly identifies major depression in 88% of cases using a score of 10 or higher as the cutoff. A validation study of 6,000 patients across 8 primary care clinics and 7 obstetrics-gynecology clinics published in General Hospital Psychiatry found that this 9-question tool performs as well as much longer screening instruments while taking just minutes to complete.
The PHQ-9 works by directly assessing the 9 DSM-IV criteria for major depression, asking patients to rate how often they’ve experienced each symptom over the past two weeks, which allows clinicians to quickly identify depression and track severity over time.