GAD-7 Anxiety Screening
GAD-7 Anxiety Screening template for intake and follow-up visits. Capture the 7 validated anxiety items, functional impairment, and clinician scoring in one reusable form.
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Overview
This GAD-7 Anxiety Screening template captures the standard seven anxiety symptom items over the past two weeks, plus a functional impairment question, clinician scoring, and follow-up notes. It is built for intake and repeat visits where you need a consistent way to measure anxiety severity and compare change over time.
Use it when a patient reports worry, restlessness, irritability, trouble relaxing, or other generalized anxiety symptoms and you want a validated screen that is easy to repeat. The template supports a 0–21 total score, a severity band, and a place to record change from the previous score at follow-up. That makes it useful for baseline assessment, treatment monitoring, and documenting whether symptoms are improving, stable, or worsening.
Do not use it as a stand-alone diagnostic tool or as a substitute for a full clinical interview. It is also not the right form if you need a broader mental health intake that covers depression, panic, trauma, substance use, or risk assessment in depth. Keep the wording, recall period, and response scale intact if you want the results to remain comparable across visits and across patients.
Standards & compliance context
- The GAD-7 is a validated screening instrument, so the symptom wording, response options, and recall period should not be altered if you need comparable clinical scoring.
- This template supports clinical documentation, but it does not replace diagnosis, informed consent, or clinician judgment under applicable practice standards.
- If your workflow stores patient responses electronically, follow your organization’s privacy, record-retention, and access-control requirements for health information.
- When used for telehealth or portal intake, make sure the patient understands who will review the form and how urgent concerns will be handled.
- Any follow-up on severe symptoms should follow your local clinical protocol, including escalation pathways when indicated.
General regulatory context for orientation only — verify current requirements with counsel or the relevant agency before relying on this template for compliance.
What's inside this template
Instructions
This section sets the recall period and response expectations so every patient answers the GAD-7 the same way.
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Assessment Period
Select the visit type for this administration of the GAD-7.
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Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problems? Please read each item carefully before selecting your response.
Response options for all items below: 0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day. This instruction is displayed to the respondent before the symptom items.
GAD-7 Symptom Items (Past 2 Weeks)
These seven items are the core validated screen and produce the severity score clinicians use to track anxiety.
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1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
2. Not being able to stop or control worrying
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
3. Worrying too much about different things
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
4. Trouble relaxing
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day -
7. Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen
0 = Not at all 1 = Several days 2 = More than half the days 3 = Nearly every day
Functional Impairment
This question shows whether symptoms are affecting daily life, which helps separate symptom frequency from real-world impact.
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If you checked off any problems, how difficult have these made it for you to do your work, take care of things at home, or get along with other people?
Options: Not difficult at all Somewhat difficult Very difficult Extremely difficult. This item is part of the standard GAD-7 administration and assesses functional impact but is not included in the 0–21 total score.
Scoring & Clinical Interpretation
This section turns responses into a total score, severity band, and follow-up comparison that support clinical review.
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GAD-7 Total Score (0–21) — Clinician Calculated
Sum of items 1–7. Severity bands: 0–4 = Minimal anxiety 5–9 = Mild anxiety 10–14 = Moderate anxiety 15–21 = Severe anxiety. Scores ≥10 warrant further evaluation (Spitzer et al., 2006, Archives of Internal Medicine). -
Severity Band
Select the severity classification based on the total score above.
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Change from Previous Score (if follow-up visit)
Enter the difference from the prior GAD-7 total score (positive = worsening; negative = improvement). A change of ≥5 points is considered a clinically meaningful difference.
Clinical Notes & Follow-Up
This section captures context, clinician observations, and next steps so the score is interpreted in the full clinical picture.
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Clinician Observations and Context
Document any relevant clinical context, patient-reported triggers, comorbid conditions, or behavioral observations that may affect score interpretation.
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Recommended Next Steps
Document clinical recommendations based on score (e.g., watchful waiting, psychoeducation, CBT referral, medication evaluation, crisis protocol). For scores ≥15, document safety assessment and escalation plan.
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Is there anything else you would like to share about how you have been feeling?
Open-ended space for the respondent to provide additional context not captured by the structured items.
How to use this template
- 1. Set the assessment period to the last two weeks and keep the seven GAD-7 symptom items in their validated wording with the same response scale.
- 2. Assign the form to the patient before the visit or complete it during intake, then make sure the functional impairment question is answered if any symptoms are endorsed.
- 3. Calculate the total score from the seven symptom items, record the severity band, and note whether this is a baseline or follow-up assessment.
- 4. Compare the current score with the previous score at follow-up visits and document any clinician observations, context, or treatment-relevant changes.
- 5. Review the recommended next steps and add any safety, referral, or care-plan notes needed before closing the encounter.
- 6. Capture any final patient comments in the open-ended question so the form ends with context rather than a silent score.
Best practices
- Keep the two-week recall period unchanged so follow-up scores remain comparable across visits.
- Use the exact GAD-7 item wording and a consistent response scale to preserve the validity of the screen.
- Review the functional impairment response whenever symptoms are present, because severity and impact are not always the same thing.
- Treat a score change as a clinical signal to discuss, not as a standalone decision rule.
- Document the previous score at follow-up so trend interpretation is visible in the chart.
- Use the clinician notes field to capture context such as medication changes, life stressors, or comorbid symptoms that may affect interpretation.
- Keep optional demographic or administrative fields outside the core screening flow so they do not distract from the symptom items.
What this template typically catches
Issues teams running this template most often surface in practice:
Common use cases
Frequently asked questions
When should I use the GAD-7 template?
Use it at intake when you need a baseline anxiety severity score and at follow-up visits to compare change over time. It is also useful when a patient reports worry, restlessness, irritability, or difficulty relaxing and you want a standardized screen. Because it asks about the past two weeks, it works best as a point-in-time clinical check rather than a long retrospective history.
What does this template actually measure?
The GAD-7 measures the frequency of seven common anxiety symptoms over the last two weeks and includes a functional impairment question. It produces a total score from 0 to 21 and a severity band that helps clinicians interpret symptom burden. The template is designed to support screening and monitoring, not to replace a full diagnostic evaluation.
Who should complete and review this form?
The patient typically completes the symptom items, and a clinician reviews the score, impairment, and any follow-up notes. The clinician should also interpret the change from a previous score when this is used at follow-up. If your workflow allows self-completion before the visit, the form still needs clinician review before any treatment decision.
How often should the GAD-7 be administered?
A common cadence is at intake and then periodically during treatment, such as at follow-up appointments or other planned reassessments. The exact frequency depends on the care plan and how often you need a comparable severity signal. Avoid over-administering it so frequently that the responses become repetitive or less meaningful.
Is the GAD-7 enough for diagnosis or treatment decisions?
No. It is a validated screening and monitoring tool, but it should be interpreted alongside clinical interview, history, impairment, and any relevant risk assessment. The score can guide next steps, but it should not be the only basis for diagnosis, escalation, or discharge decisions.
What are the most common mistakes when using this template?
Common mistakes include changing the wording of the seven symptom items, using a different recall period, or skipping the functional impairment question. Another pitfall is treating the score as a standalone diagnosis without context. For follow-up use, it is also important to record the previous score so change over time is visible.
Can I customize the template for my clinic workflow?
Yes, but keep the validated GAD-7 symptom wording, response scale, and two-week timeframe intact if you want to preserve comparability. You can customize instructions, clinician notes, routing, and whether the form is completed in the waiting room, via patient portal, or during intake. Optional fields should stay secondary to the core screening items.
How does this fit with EHR or patient portal workflows?
This template can be used as a pre-visit questionnaire, an intake form, or a follow-up assessment that feeds into the chart. Many teams map the total score, severity band, and impairment response into structured fields for easier review. If you integrate it, make sure the scoring logic stays consistent across all entry points.
What should I do if a patient reports severe symptoms or impairment?
Use the score and impairment response as a prompt for clinical follow-up, not as a final answer. Severe symptoms, marked functional difficulty, or concerning narrative comments should trigger your normal clinical pathway, which may include a fuller assessment, safety review, or treatment adjustment. The template includes a notes area so the clinician can capture context and next steps.
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