PHQ-9 Depression Screening — FHIR Questionnaire Template

Nine-question depression screener with an automatic total score and severity band (minimal to severe).

Scoring

Each answer scores 0–3. The total (0–27) maps to minimal (0–4), mild (5–9), moderate (10–14), moderately severe (15–19) or severe (20–27) depression.

Questions

1. Little interest or pleasure in doing things
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
2. Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
3. Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
4. Feeling tired or having little energy
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
5. Poor appetite or overeating
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
6. Feeling bad about yourself — or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
7. Trouble concentrating on things, such as reading the newspaper or watching television
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
8. Moving or speaking so slowly that other people could have noticed? Or the opposite — being so fidgety or restless that you have been moving around a lot more than usual
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
9. Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself in some way
   • Not at all
   • Several days
   • More than half the days
   • Nearly every day
10. If you checked off any problems, how difficult have these problems made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?
    • Not difficult at all
    • Somewhat difficult
    • Very difficult
    • Extremely difficult

Calculated results

• PHQ-9 total score
• Depression severity

Source and license

Source: Kroenke, Spitzer & Williams 2001, J Gen Intern Med 16:606 (PHQ-9). Codes: LOINC; form text as published at phqscreeners.com. (link)

License: Developed by Drs. Robert L. Spitzer, Janet B.W. Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute. (link)

Provided to save authoring effort, not as medical advice — confirm the scale and its cut-offs for your use case.

Use it

1. Download the FHIR Questionnaire JSON, or
2. open the Builder, choose + Add → From template…, search for “PHQ-9 Depression Screening” and insert it. It arrives as one titled group with its calculations wired, and you can keep editing it.

More templates

• GAD-7 Anxiety Screening
• AUDIT-C Alcohol Use Screening
• PHQ-2 Depression Screening
• GAD-2 Anxiety Screening
• qSOFA Sepsis Screen
• CHA₂DS₂-VASc Stroke Risk Score
• Charlson Comorbidity Index
• Glasgow Coma Scale
• Apgar Score

This material contains content from LOINC (loinc.org). LOINC is copyright © Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) Committee and is available at no cost under the LOINC license.