The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a 13-item checklist. This brief questionnaire will help provide insights into certain mood symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. While this tool is for screening purposes only — and is not diagnostic — a positive screen may raise the index of suspicion for bipolar disorder and suggest that the patient might benefit from further evaluation.

Robert M. A. Hirschfeld, MD, and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.1

Frequency/Level of use, dissemination, how widespread is the usage of the instrument?

For what population was the instrument designed?

Who is the instrument administered to?

Where is the instrument used i.e. admission to nursing home, referral to home care, etc?

Is this instrument derived from or a component of another instrument?

Is the methodology of the instrument open to peer review?

What domains does the instrument assess? List CCD topics that the instrument covers.

Is subject just asked questions or do they have to do some activity (i.e. get up and go assessment)?

An algorithm may calculate one or more scores based on elements of the assessment.

Is the instrument being used outside the original target population?

Are there different versions of the tool? Sometimes the different versions have different # of questions.

Is the instrument in the public domain (Y/N)?

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/MDQ.htm

http://www.toolsforthefight.com/tfp_index.jsp

Discussion