The Cornell Psychiatric Screen: a brief psychiatric scale for hospitalized medical patients

Psychiatric comorbidity among medicine inpatients is prevalent, yet no reliable screen for identifying need for psychiatric referrals exists. The Cornell Psychiatric Screen was developed as a brief, reliable, and valid screening tool. The items on the Cornell Psychiatric Screen assess a range of psychiatric conditions, including cognition and behavior, depressive symptoms, anxiety, drug and alcohol history, and the patient's desire to see a psychiatrist. Of the patients whose Cornell Psychiatric Screen results indicated possible psychopathology, 89% had documented psychiatric comorbidity according to DSM-IV criteria. On the basis of preliminary validation, the Cornell Psychiatric Screen appears to be a useful tool for identifying patients who require a psychiatric evaluation.