[The Geriatric Mental Status Schedule, the GMS: psychiatric tool in psychogeriatrics]

An instrument in geriatric psychiatry, the GMS, is introduced. The use of measurement in psychiatry is briefly touched upon. The use of standardized interview like the GMS mainly serves differential diagnosis in psychiatry. The essence of this method is that questions and the appraisal of answers are submitted to rules and regulations. The application of this method in geriatric psychiatry is still in its infancy. The history of the GMS and the choice of maternal instruments following international consensus is described. In former investigations results of reliability and validity studies were satisfactory. In our own Dutch investigation reliability and validity in the (differential) diagnosis of senile dementia were consistent with those of previous studies. Some claims and restrictions in the application of the instrument are discussed.