Clinical Global Impression (CGI)
Provides clinician-rated global assessment of illness severity and treatment response
- Highest activation tier
- Available
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a stated value is compared only from the structured summary or a supplied value
- Care settings
- Inpatient, Outpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Global clinical assessment
- Treatment response monitoring
- Psychiatric medication adjustment
- Clinical trial outcome assessment
- Overall illness severity rating
Note-type scope: it activates on notes whose subject resolves to psychiatry. A note that resolves to another subject does not carry it even when the clinician's specialty matches; a note with no resolvable subject (a generic consultation) falls back to the specialty match.
Inputs the note needs
2 inputs. Each is resolved from the transcript, the pasted chart context and charted labs; at this calculator’s tier a missing input is never requested, and the code-scoring engine never inserts the score unprompted.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGI-S: 1=Normal, 2=Borderline, 3=Mildly ill, 4=Moderately ill, 5=Markedly ill, 6=Severely ill, 7=Extremely ill | exam | ||
| CGI-I: 1=Very much improved, 2=Much improved, 3=Minimally improved, 4=No change, 5=Minimally worse, 6=Much worse, 7=Very much worseoptional | exam |
Scoring
CGI-S: 1-7 (severity). CGI-I: 1-7 (improvement from baseline). Both are clinician-rated global impressions.
Interpretation
CGI-S 1-2: Normal to borderline. CGI-S 3-4: Mild to moderate illness. CGI-S 5-7: Marked to extreme illness. CGI-I 1-2: Significant improvement — continue treatment. CGI-I 4: No change — consider treatment modification. CGI-I 5-7: Worsening — change treatment.
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: Guy W 1976.
- Guy W. ECDEU Assessment Manual for Psychopharmacology — Clinical Global Impressions (CGI)Guy (CGI) 1976 · 1976 · NIMH · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
Scribeable can list the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) as available to the note when the clinician's specialty matches and the encounter activates it. Its highest activation tier is available: you are never asked for its inputs, and the code-scoring engine never inserts it into the draft unprompted.
The registry entry carries the inputs, scoring criteria and interpretation above so a score you state is documented against the same reference.
Classified as a questionnaire: a patient-reported or clinician-rated instrument, where a spare activation carries low harm.
See it activate on your own encounter
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