Since meaningful use measures NQF0418 and NQF0712 require the result of the PHQ9 measuring tool, it would be highly useful to include this tool within the EMR. Currently, practices have to create an encounter template or a administrative form in order to capture this data.

Thoughts are:

1) To place this tool within the EMR so that it can be added from the encounter.
2) Populate the tool with discrete data.
3) System should sum the totals of each item and calculate the total score for the patient/visit.
4) Be able to graph the scores for the patient across multiple visits (similar to labs or vitals).
5) Be able to run reports on the gathered information from the EMR’s report area.