Understanding Your Brief Health Assessment (BHA) ResultsUnderstanding Your Brief Health Assessment (BHA) Results

You’ve just completed your appointment, and your provider shares a summary with you that includes something called a Brief Health Assessment, or BHA. You see some graphs and numbers, but you might not be sure what they all mean. Is this a grade? A test score? What is this information supposed to tell you about your health?

At Televero Health, the BHA is a central part of how we monitor your well-being. It is not a test, but a tool. Think of it as a vital signs check for your mental health. Just as a doctor checks your blood pressure at every visit to monitor your cardiovascular health, we use the BHA to get a consistent, clear picture of your psychiatric health over time. Understanding your results can empower you to be a more active partner in your own care.

What Is the BHA?

The BHA is a summary of the standardized assessments you complete at your appointments. It typically includes your scores from questionnaires that measure symptoms of common conditions. The two most common assessments included are:

  • The PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9): This is a nine-question assessment that measures the severity of depressive symptoms.
  • The GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7): This is a seven-question assessment that measures the severity of anxiety symptoms.

Each answer you give on these forms has a point value (from 0 to 3). The BHA simply adds up these points to give you a total score for each assessment. This score falls into a specific range that corresponds to a level of symptom severity.

Interpreting Your Scores

The scores on the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are broken down into categories to make them easier to understand. While the exact numbers can vary slightly, the general breakdown is as follows:

For the PHQ-9 (Depression):

  • 0-4: Minimal or no depression
  • 5-9: Mild depression
  • 10-14: Moderate depression
  • 15-19: Moderately severe depression
  • 20-27: Severe depression

For the GAD-7 (Anxiety):

  • 0-4: Minimal anxiety
  • 5-9: Mild anxiety
  • 10-14: Moderate anxiety
  • 15-21: Severe anxiety

So, if your BHA shows a PHQ-9 score of 16, it indicates that you are currently experiencing moderately severe depressive symptoms. If your GAD-7 score is 8, it suggests mild anxiety symptoms.

The Most Important Thing Is the Trend

A single score from one appointment is just a snapshot in time. It tells us how you are doing right now. The real power of the BHA comes from tracking these scores over multiple appointments. This allows you and your provider to see the trend. Is your score going down? That’s a clear sign that your treatment plan is working. Is it staying the same or going up? That’s an important signal that it might be time to discuss making a change to your treatment.

For example, you might start with a PHQ-9 score of 18 (moderately severe). After a few months of treatment, your score might drop to 9 (mild). This is what we call “clinical improvement.” You may still have some symptoms, but the data shows a significant reduction in their severity. This is progress. Seeing this trend can be incredibly encouraging and can help you stay motivated, even on days when you don’t feel your best.

Your BHA results are your data. They belong to you. Don’t be afraid to ask your provider to walk you through your scores and what they mean. Use them as a starting point for a conversation about what’s working, what’s not, and what your goals are for the future. It’s a powerful tool for ensuring your care is on the right track.

Key Takeaways

  • The Brief Health Assessment (BHA) is a summary of your scores on standardized questionnaires like the PHQ-9 for depression and the GAD-7 for anxiety.
  • Your scores correspond to a level of symptom severity, from minimal to severe.
  • The most important information from the BHA is the trend over time, which shows whether your symptoms are improving with treatment.
  • Understanding your BHA results empowers you to have more informed conversations with your provider about your care.

Ready to take the first step? We can help. Get started with Televero Health today.

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