The advent of the PHQ-9 has changed depression assessment in primary care in the UK. The 9th question always troubles me when I look at the record of the consultation. The question asks whether the patient has thoughts that they would be better off dead or hurting themselves in some way in the last 2 weeks. When this question scores positively (that is, scores 1, 2, or 3), a GP must further assess and clearly document the patient’s suicide risk in that consultation record. This can often be missed in the complexities of the consultation.
We are under enormous time pressure, but this is always necessary. It worries me that the form filling would be considered to suffice.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2013
