Screen for depression
It is recommended to screen for depression
annually or with any hospital admission or with change of condition. Use the
following two questions for screening (PHQ-2).
"During the past month, have you been bothered by either":
a. feeling down, depressed or
hopeless?"
b. "little interest or pleasure in
doing things?"
These two questions have been validated at a 97% sensitivity with a specificity of 67%. If both are negative, no further screening is necessary. If either is positive, proceed to step #2 to confirm the diagnosis.