Teresa Lovins, MD: Primary Care Tools for Screening Mood and Behavioral Disorders

Validated screening tools make it possible for family physicians to detect mood and behavioral disorders efficiently, even during short visits. In this video, Teresa Lovins, MD, owner of Lovin My Health DPC in Columbus, Indiana, shares the screeners she relies on in her practice, including the PHQ-9 for depression, the GAD-7 for anxiety, and additional instruments for ADHD and bipolar disorder. Dr Lovins explains how these brief questionnaires can be administered by staff before the physician enters the room, giving clinicians immediate insight into symptoms and allowing for timely conversations and treatment planning.

She also explains why making suicide risk assessment a routine part of primary care visits could be a practical and potentially lifesaving step. Dr Lovins highlights the importance of normalizing brief screening, which can take less than a minute, and emphasizes the role primary care physicians can play in identifying risk earlier and guiding patients to support.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Teresa Lovins, MD: The screeners I typically use to look for mood disorders include the PHQ-9, which identifies symptoms of depression, and the GAD-7, which looks for symptoms of anxiety. We also use a screener for ADHD and the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, which screens for bipolar symptoms. These tools are very quick, and our staff can administer them so that the information is available when the physician enters the room and can address any positive responses with the patient.

Patient Care®: Is it your feeling that suicide risk assessment should be a standard part of primary care visits? Would that be somewhat overwhelming to a patient or to a physician to work that in?

Teresa Lovins, MD: I think it’s a very appropriate step in the right direction to try to reduce the risk of suicide. Yes, it could initially raise a question—why is the physician doing this, do they see something in me? But as we make it more routine with every visit, it will become less noticeable as an outlier question. We will be able to answer those questions and get patients on the right track.

It’s interesting to look at the statistics about how often patients who go on to commit or even attempt suicide have seen a physician or a provider in some setting in the weeks or months before the event. We’ve got to do something different. And if this screener can take 30 seconds, we ought to do it.

For more of our conversation with Dr Lovins, check out:

• Spotting the Subtle Signs of Depression: How Familiarity Helps Family Physicians Excel, With Teresa Lovins, MD
• Family Medicine is Where Mental Health Care Starts, With Teresa Lovins, MD
• Brief Suicide Screening in Primary Care Cut Risk by 25%: Family Physician Highlights NIMH Study
• A Family Physician Explains Why Primary Care Can't Afford to Miss Signs of Suicide Risk