Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-2

The PHQ-2 inquires about the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks. The PHQ-2 includes the first two items of the PHQ-9.

The purose of the PHQ-2 is not to establish a final diagnosis or to monitor depression severity, but rather to screen for depression in a "first step" approach.

Patients who screen positive should be further evaluated with the PHQ-9 to determine whether they meet criteria for a depressive disorder.