This VNAA Best Practice includes the following critical interventions and actions:

• All patients will be screened using the PHQ-2 scale (OASIS question M1730)
• A score of 3 or more indicates the need for additional screenings.
• Follow-up screening should be done with the PHQ9 for patients 64 and under and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for patients 65 and older to determine depression severity.
• Notify the primary care physician (PCP) of both the initial and follow-up screening scores.
• Care planning should include a request for MSW referral for community resources, mental health follow up based on available resources and medication monitoring.
• Obtain a prescription order from the PCP or specialist if appropriate.
• For those patients receiving mental health follow-up treatment, the agency may utilize secondary screening at discharge to determine if depression has been reduced.

The tools linked below were evaluated by the VNAA Best Practices Work Group and are offered for duplication and use. All are used with permission from the authors and/or organizations that originated the material. Please retain all logos and citations where authors/originators are listed on these resources.