Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
Clinician-rated scale measuring depression severity, particularly sensitive to treatment change
- Highest activation tier
- Recommended
- How it is scored
- Scored in code; a detected disagreeing draft value is flagged for correction
- Care settings
- Inpatient, Outpatient
When it activates
Scribeable activates a calculator from the encounter. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) can activate when the transcript or pasted chart context documents any of these:
- Depression severity assessment
- Antidepressant treatment monitoring
- Depression clinical trial outcome
- Treatment-resistant depression evaluation
- ECT/TMS response monitoring
A coded diagnosis can also activate it. ICD-10 prefixes carried by the registry: F32, F33.
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
1 input. 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 a missing required input keeps the score out of the draft.
| Input | Type | Unit / options | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| MADRS total score (0-60) | symptom |
Scoring
10 items, each 0-6. Total 0-60. Assesses: apparent sadness, reported sadness, inner tension, reduced sleep, reduced appetite, concentration difficulties, lassitude, inability to feel, pessimistic thoughts, suicidal thoughts.
Interpretation
0-6: Normal/symptom absent. 7-19: Mild depression. 20-34: Moderate depression — active treatment indicated. ≥35: Severe depression — aggressive treatment, consider hospitalization. Response: ≥50% decrease. Remission: score ≤10.
Evidence
Sources carried in Scribeable's citation registry for this calculator; guideline version: Montgomery SA & Asberg M 1979.
- Montgomery SA, Asberg M. A new depression rating scale designed to be sensitive to changeMontgomery & Asberg (MADRS) 1979 · 1979 · Level I · link last verified 2026-03-28
How Scribeable handles it in the note
When an encounter activates the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) (its highest tier is recommended), Scribeable does not ask you for missing inputs. The score is computed in code from whatever inputs resolve from the transcript, the pasted chart context or charted labs; a computed value is written into the draft only when every required input already resolves.
The score is computed in code from the resolved inputs, not recalled by the language model. If the draft states a Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) value that disagrees with the computed one, the disagreement is flagged to the second drafting pass, which is instructed to correct the score and its interpretation before you see the note.
Classified as a questionnaire: a patient-reported or clinician-rated instrument, where a spare activation carries low harm.
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