title: Revisiting the hypothesis-driven interview in a contemporary context.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The "hypothesis-driven interview" was articulated by George Engel as a method of raising and testing hypotheses in the process of building a biopsychosocial formulation and determining the most likely diagnosis. This interview was a forerunner of the modern medical interview as well as the contemporary psychiatric assessment. The objective of this article is to describe the hypothesis-driven interview and to explore its relationship with the contemporary medical interview.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature on the medical and hypothesis-driven interview was reviewed. Key features of each were identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hypothesis-driven interview shares much with the contemporary medical interview. In addition, it enhances the application of communication skills and allows the interviewer to develop a formulation during the course of the assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The hypothesis-driven interview is well suited to the aims of a contemporary psychiatric assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia. acnh@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McColl
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011582:Psychological Theory