





See what your PHQ-9 score means by severity range (0–27), how to read it safely, and when a score suggests it's time to talk to a clinician.
Add together column scores to get a TOTAL score. Refer to the accompanying PHQ-9 Scoring Box to interpret the TOTAL score. Results may be included in patient files to assist you in setting up a treatment goal, determining degree of response, as well as guiding treatment intervention.
This easy to use patient questionnaire is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders. 1 The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the nine DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day).
Many people take the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and then wonder, what does the phq9 score mean for their emotional health? This guide will break down what each number signifies, helping you understand your current state and what thoughtful steps you might consider next.
PHQ-9 scores can be used to plan and monitor treatment. To score the instrument, tally the numbers of all the checked responses under each heading (not at all=0, several days=1, more than half the days=2, and nearly every day=3).
A score of 3 or greater on the PHQ-2 will generally lead to the subsequent administration of the PHQ-9. The Veterans Administration uses this method to screen for depression in patients.
Each of its nine items corresponds to one of the symptoms of major depression, and it allows for a severity score to aid in clinical decision-making (Kroenke et al., 2001). A raw score (from 0 to 27) is presented where higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.
PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) A nine-item, self-administered scale, which reflects the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition) criteria. It classifies current symptoms on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) — the maximum score is 27.
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.






