GAD-7 questions, scoring and cut points
The GAD-7 is a seven-item anxiety scale developed by Drs. Spitzer, Williams, Kroenke and colleagues. Its items cover the last two weeks, use answers weighted 0 to 3 and produce a total from 0 to 21.
Your practice builds the GAD-7 from the owner's current wording and confirms its licence. Intake Pro can calculate the total and show configured bands, while the clinical lead decides the cut point and result review.
Last updated
- Items 7
- Score range 0 to 21
- Time frame Last 2 weeks
- Cut points 5, 10 and 15
- Licence No permission required
What is the GAD-7 and who developed it?
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale is an anxiety questionnaire developed by Drs. Spitzer, Williams, Kroenke and colleagues. Its seven items concern the patient's experiences during the last two weeks.
Each GAD-7 item has four response choices scored from 0 through 3. Adding them produces one total from 0 through 21. The scale's item topics and scoring come from the instruction manual; get the actual wording from the owner.
A clinical lead may select the GAD-7 for a practice's therapy and counseling intake forms. Staff handle its delivery and recordkeeping, while the practice decides who reviews the response.
What do the seven GAD-7 items cover?
The GAD-7 items cover worry, physical tension, emotional responses and anticipated danger across seven topics. The questionnaire uses one shared response scale.
- Feeling nervous or on edge.
- Difficulty controlling worry.
- Worry across many subjects.
- Trouble relaxing.
- Restlessness.
- Irritability.
- Fear that something awful might happen.
How is the GAD-7 scored?
GAD-7 scoring adds seven answers weighted 0 to 3 for a total of 0 to 21. Cut points at 5, 10 and 15 mark mild, moderate and severe anxiety. When screening for anxiety disorders, the manual recommends 10 or more as the cut point for further evaluation.
| Score band | Screening band |
|---|---|
| 0 to 4 | Below the mild cut point |
| 5 to 9 | Mild anxiety |
| 10 to 14 | Moderate anxiety |
| 15 to 21 | Severe anxiety |
A score is a screening result and not a diagnosis. The practice's clinical lead decides which cut point the practice uses and what staff do with a result. The manual gives no label for 0 to 4.
Who owns the GAD-7 and what does its licence say?
The PHQ and GAD-7 screeners site supplies the GAD-7 and its reproduction statement. Your practice should get the current wording there and confirm the licence itself before putting the scale online.
The screeners site says the PHQ and GAD-7 screeners and their translations are downloadable from the site. It states that "no permission is required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute them".
The practice manager should use the owner's version rather than reconstructing remembered item wording. The clinical lead separately approves the score bands and the staff procedure used by the practice.
How do you build the GAD-7 in Intake Pro?
Build the GAD-7 in Intake Pro from the owner's wording after confirming permission. A matrix, answer weights and labelled score bands support the manual's single total; staff test the result before publication.
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Get the owner's current scale
Obtain the GAD-7 and instruction manual from the screeners site. Confirm the stated reproduction terms for your practice's planned use.
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Create the shared-answer matrix
Add one matrix in the form builder for the seven items, using the owner's current item order and response choices.
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Set points and score bands
In scored assessments, weight answers 0 through 3, calculate 0 through 21 and label 0 to 4 as below the mild cut point plus the three higher bands.
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Have the clinical lead review
Confirm the chosen cut point, the manual's further-evaluation threshold and the named staff review process with the practice's clinical lead.
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Test the arithmetic
Use known answers to check totals around 5, 10 and 15. Compare every calculated result with a total staff calculate by hand.
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Publish the approved version
Publish after wording, weights, labels and review assignments pass staff testing. Any later edit becomes a new published version.
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Deliver it with intake
Add the form to an intake packet, send a private link before the visit or offer the published form through the front-desk kiosk.
When does a practice send the GAD-7 and who reviews it?
The clinical lead determines when the GAD-7 belongs in the practice's intake workflow and who reviews a submitted response. The front-desk lead sends the approved form ahead of visits or makes it available at check-in.
Intake Pro calculates and keeps the total with the signed response. It does not alert staff, interpret a score or provide clinical decision support, so staff follow the clinical lead's review assignments rather than expecting the software to act on a result.
Authorized staff can retrieve the signed PDF and audit trail through signed records, then follow the practice's chart process. The PHQ-9 guide explains the related depression scale when both belong in an approved packet.
Return to patient form templates for ownership and licensing checks across the scale set. The broader intake forms guide explains registration, history and consent documents around the scale.
Questions
Why is a GAD-7 score of 0 to 4 below the mild cut point?
The instruction manual gives no label for 0 to 4. Its labelled bands begin at 5, so that lower range is described here as below the mild cut point rather than given an invented clinical label.
What GAD-7 score does the manual use for further evaluation?
When screening for anxiety disorders, the manual recommends 10 or more as the cut point for further evaluation. The practice's clinical lead decides which cut point it uses and what staff do with a result.
Does Intake Pro interpret a GAD-7 result?
No. Intake Pro calculates and retains the configured total with the signed response. It does not alert staff, interpret scores or provide clinical decision support. The practice assigns result review through its own procedure.
Can a GAD-7 share an intake packet with a PHQ-9?
Yes. A practice can place both forms it builds from owner wording into one packet. The patient opens one link and completes the forms in turn, while staff test each scale's scoring separately before publication.