According to the U.S. Surgeon General, 11% of our nation’s youth suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder that causes significant impairment, but only 20% are identified and receive professional help. Mental health screening is an efficient and effective way to identify at-risk teens and is endorsed by both the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends routine mental health checkups for all adolescents, and the Society of Adolescent Medicine, which supports early identification of mental illness as a critical standard of care.
The mental health checkup initiative is designed for healthcare providers and involves a simple screening procedure that includes a brief questionnaire taken by patients in the waiting room or exam room. Reviewing and scoring the questionnaire is an easy way to evaluate if a teen is suffering from depression, anxiety or other conditions. These problems can contribute to physical symptoms or create risk for harmful behaviors, such as drug or alcohol abuse and suicide. If detected early, adolescents diagnosed with mental illness may lead healthy, productive lives.
TeenScreen Primary Care Across the Country
TeenScreen Primary Care is a new initiative of the National Center that aims to integrate routine mental health screening into adolescent primary care. TeenScreen Primary Care is being implemented through partnerships with managed care companies, hospitals, health centers and medical providers throughout the country.
The Screening Process: TeenScreen Primary Care
- Screening Questionnaire Administration and Scoring
When the patient is brought into his/ her appointment with their doctor, the screening questionnaire will be administered as part of their regular exam. The questionnaire asks questions about a broad range of behavioral and emotional problems in youth and takes less than five minutes to complete. The questionnaire will be scored by office staff and then shared with the patient's primary care provider (PCP).
- Post-Screening Discussion
The PCP will then meet with the patient for his/ her routine exam, and will probe further about the specific problem areas (if any) that were identified by the questionnaire.
- Parent Notification and Referral Coordination
After the post-screening discussion, the PCP will share the results of the screening with the parent(s) or legal guardian. If the PCP determines that the symptoms reported by the patient on the questionnaire are significant or causing impairment, he/ she may decide that they would like to offer the family a referral for further evaluation to a mental health provider, or to schedule follow-up visit to further evaluate the problems uncovered by the screening.
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