Many health care organizations send patients a digital PHQ-9 depression questionnaire in the days leading up to an appointment. However, some organizations deliberately remove the final question of the PHQ-9, which asks about suicide.
When they omit the last question, organizations are doing so out of fear of legal liability.
In this piece Kyle Fitzpatrick, Geoff Engel, and I contend that omitting the question about suicide is unethical, unsupported by evidence, and rooted in stigma.
It is crucial that organizations ask the most important question in behavioral health care. Everyone deserves as much.
You can read the piece here:
I’m grateful to Kyle for reaching out several months back to discuss this important topic.
**Kyle and Geoff are both former students of mine–I’ve been beyond fortunate to have had so many amazing students and trainees over the years.