Use of a PHQ-9 Heat Map to Facilitate Management Decisions in Patients With Depression.

Background: Depression is a common concern for patients seeking medical care. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a tool used to diagnose and manage depression. Tracking individual symptom scores rather than the sum of multiple symptom scores has been found to be more predictive of depression treatment response.

Methods: The records of 30 patients who had a follow-up visit in primary care were reviewed. We discuss 3 patient scenarios and present their PHQ-9 data as individual symptom scores, in the form of a color-coded heat map.

Results: In the cases presented, medication side effects, anxiety, a thyroid disorder, and fibromyalgia were identified as possible influencers of the PHQ-9 survey scores.

Dsicussion: A heat map helped clinicians understand the patient's clinical status in an efficient manner. We encourage the development of a PHQ-9 heat map in electronic medical record systems.