Measurement-Based Care at Animo Sano: What Our Data Shows
Mina Boazak, MD
Key Takeaways
- Measurement-based care means tracking your symptoms with short, validated questionnaires, so you and your provider can see progress instead of guessing at it.
- Across nearly 18,000 Animo Sano patients, most who completed a follow-up reported fewer depression, anxiety and ADHD symptoms than when they started.
- On average, improvement showed up within the first few months of care and held through a full year.
- Patients who were struggling the most at the start saw the largest drops in their scores.
- These results come from real-world care, not a controlled study, and we share what the numbers can and can’t show.
You’ve probably filled out a mental health questionnaire at a doctor’s visit and wondered whether anyone actually reads it. At Animo Sano Psychiatry, those answers are part of your treatment. They help your provider see what’s working, what isn’t, and when it’s time to adjust. Here’s how that process works, and what nearly five years of those answers tell us.
What Is Measurement-Based Care?
Measurement-based care is an approach to mental health treatment where you complete short, validated symptom questionnaires at regular points in your care, and your provider uses those scores to track your progress and guide treatment decisions. Instead of relying only on how a visit “felt,” you and your provider can see whether your symptoms are actually moving, and in which direction.
Think of it like managing blood pressure. Your doctor wouldn’t adjust a medication without checking your numbers first. Measurement-based care brings that same habit to depression, anxiety and ADHD: measure, adjust, and measure again.
At Animo Sano, we describe our approach as measurement-informed care. Your scores are an important part of the picture, but they never replace your provider’s clinical judgment or your own account of how you’re doing. A number can flag that something has changed. A conversation explains why, and what to do about it.
Common Questionnaires You May Complete at Animo Sano Psychiatry
The questionnaires you complete depend on your condition and your treatment plan. Three of the most common are the PHQ-9, GAD-7 and ASRS, and they’re the focus of the data in this post. Each takes only a few minutes, and on all three, a lower score means fewer symptoms.
PHQ-9: Depression Symptoms
The PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) asks how often, over the past two weeks, you’ve been bothered by nine common symptoms of depression, such as low mood, poor sleep or trouble concentrating. It’s one of the most widely used depression questionnaires, and research has shown it to be a reliable way to measure how severe symptoms are.
One PHQ-9 question asks about thoughts of self-harm. Your provider reviews those answers with care. If you are ever having thoughts of harming yourself, please don’t wait for your next appointment: call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, any time of day.
GAD-7: Anxiety Symptoms
The GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7) asks about seven symptoms of anxiety, including worry, restlessness and irritability. Research has shown it to be a reliable, efficient way to screen for anxiety and measure its severity.
ASRS: ADHD Symptoms
The ASRS (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale) asks how often you experience common ADHD symptoms, like losing focus, forgetting tasks or feeling restless. It’s a core part of care in our ADHD Specialty Clinic.
Your Overall Rating, and Your Provider’s
You may also be asked a single question about how you’re doing overall, and your provider records their own overall rating. These quick check-ins add a big-picture view alongside the detailed symptom scores.
You can complete many of these questionnaires between visits, so your appointment time stays focused on talking with your provider, not filling out forms.
What Our Data Shows
We reviewed questionnaire results from nearly 18,000 Animo Sano patients and more than 50,000 visits between August 2021 and July 2026, across all eight states we serve. To keep the numbers honest, we compared each patient’s first scores with their most recent follow-up, and removed records that looked like repeated copies of earlier answers.
Most Patients Reported Fewer Symptoms
Among patients who completed at least one follow-up questionnaire, between two-thirds and three-quarters of them scored lower than when they started. A lower score means they reported fewer symptoms, which is the direction you want to see.
| Questionnaire | What it measures | Percentage of Patients reporting fewer symptoms (lower score) at the latest follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| ASRS | ADHD symptoms | About 73% |
| GAD-7 | Anxiety symptoms | About 71% |
| PHQ-9 | Depression symptoms | About 65% |
*Each result is based on more than 7,000 patients.
Improvement Came Early and Lasted
On average, most of the drop in symptoms appeared by about the three-month mark. Scores then stayed down at six months and at one year, rather than drifting back up. For many people, that early change is an encouraging sign that the treatment plan is on the right track.
Where The Biggest Changes Showed Up
Patients who started with more severe symptoms saw the largest improvements. Among those who began with at least moderate depression, average PHQ-9 scores fell by more than 5 points, a change researchers consider meaningful for an individual patient. Anxiety scores dropped by a similar amount. If you’re struggling right now, starting in a hard place doesn’t mean treatment can’t help.
The ADHD results also stood out. Patients diagnosed with ADHD improved more than twice as much on the ADHD questionnaire as patients treated for other conditions, a sign the questionnaire is tracking real change in ADHD symptoms.
And patients noticed the difference themselves: nearly 6 in 10 rated themselves as improved overall since starting treatment.
Important Considerations About this Data
We think you deserve honest information when you’re choosing where to get care, so here’s what this data does and doesn’t show.
- It comes from real-world care, not a controlled study. There’s no comparison group, so we can’t say treatment alone caused the improvement. Time, life changes and other factors play a part too.
- It only includes patients who completed follow-ups. About 45% of patients had follow-up scores we could compare. People who stopped coming may have done better or worse.
- A lower score isn’t the same as full recovery. Any drop counts as “lower” here, even a small one. Many patients still had symptoms they were working on.
What the data does show is a consistent pattern across thousands of patients: most people who stayed in care and kept checking in reported feeling better, and those gains held over time.
How Measurement Shapes Your Care at Animo Sano Psychiatry
- A full starting picture. Initial evaluations are scheduled for a full hour, and your first questionnaire scores become the baseline your progress is measured against.
- Check-ins that guide decisions. As you continue medication management or psychotherapy, your scores help your provider see when a plan is working and when it may be time to adjust.
- Care that’s easier to keep up with. Telehealth visits and evening appointments mean no commute and no time off work. That makes it easier to stay in care, and staying in care is what makes progress visible.
- A connected care team. With your permission, your Animo Sano provider can coordinate with your primary care doctor. Some patients also receive care through our Collaborative Care Model, a team-based approach built around regular symptom tracking.
- Extra support when you need it. Because your provider is tracking your scores over time, they can spot when you might benefit from more specialized care. When that happens, they can connect you with additional treatment options, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), long-acting injectable medications, or targeted therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). They can also refer you to one of our specialty clinics, such as our ADHD Specialty Clinic, Women’s Behavioral Health Specialty Clinic, or Mood Disorder Specialty Clinic, without you having to start over somewhere new.
If your scores aren’t moving the way you’d hoped, that’s useful information too. It’s a signal to talk with your provider about your treatment plan, not a sign that you’ve failed.
Final Thoughts
Those few minutes you spend on a questionnaire are valuable. They turn “I think I’m doing a little better” into something you and your provider can see together, and act on. Across thousands of Animo Sano patients, that shared view has shown a hopeful pattern: most people who stay in care report fewer symptoms, often within the first few months. Progress looks different for everyone, and you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How often will I fill out questionnaires at Animo Sano?
Which questionnaires you receive depends on what you’re being treated for. You’ll typically complete them at your first visit and then at regular points during treatment. Many can be completed between appointments, so your visit time stays focused on you.
2. Does a higher score mean my treatment isn’t working?
Not necessarily. Scores can rise during a stressful week, a life change or before a medication has had time to take full effect. A higher score is a reason to talk with your provider, who will look at the whole picture before making any changes.
3. Do I have to complete the questionnaires?
They’re an important part of how we track your progress, and most patients find them quick and easy. If you have concerns about any of the questions, talk with your provider. They’ll explain why each one matters and how your answers are used.
4. What’s the difference between measurement-based care and measurement-informed care?
Measurement-based care follows a structured process of regular symptom tracking to guide treatment. Measurement-informed care, the approach we use at Animo Sano, uses those same scores flexibly, alongside your provider’s clinical judgment and your own experience.
Explore More
Animo Sano Psychiatry is now serving patients across multiple states. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, please contact us to get started.
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