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 TeenScreen Primary Care 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 aims to integrate routine mental health screening into adolescent primary care. The program is being implemented through partnerships with managed care companies, hospitals, health centers and medical providers throughout the country.

The Screening Process:

1. Screening Questionnaire Administration and Scoring
   

When the patient is brought into his/ her appointment with their primary care physician (PCP), the screening questionnaire is 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 PCP.

2. Post-Screening Discussion
   

The PCP then meets with the patient for his/ her routine exam, and probes further about the specific problem areas (if any) that were identified by the questionnaire.

3. Parent Notification and Referral Coordination

After the post-screening discussion, the PCP shares the results of the screening with the parent(s). If the PCP determines that the symptoms reported by the patient 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.