Do not clinically interpret a total from Survey Doctor's current digital MADRS. Items 1 through 9 give the same visible wording to different stored values, so the sum cannot show which ratings the clinician intended. A valid MADRS uses ten trained-clinician ratings from 0 to 6 and produces a total from 0 to 60.
The defect changes the result.
The quick answer
The current digital form can add its ten stored values. Correct arithmetic does not repair an invalid response key. A result may also show a legacy range label. Do not use either output to judge depression severity, remission, treatment response, or level of care.
The form comes first.
Numbers are not enough.
The original 1979 MADRS study describes a clinician rating scale designed to be sensitive to symptom change during treatment. It does not make the scale a diagnosis. Interview findings, observation, function, safety, and the clinical setting still matter.
More evidence is required.
What is wrong with the digital anchors
The source MADRS has defined even-numbered anchors at 0, 2, 4, and 6. A clinician may use 1, 3, or 5 only when the presentation truly falls between two defined anchors.
Intermediate values have a purpose.
In the current digital form, items 1 through 9 repeat each upper even anchor at the odd value before it. The same visible text can therefore store 1 or 2, 3 or 4, or 5 or 6. Several transcribed stems and anchors also differ from the primary wording.
The choice is ambiguous.
Once a clinician has selected one of those duplicated labels, the total cannot reveal which value was intended. Relabeling an old response later would silently change the record. Use an authorized form and a documented trained-rater protocol instead.
Preserve the original record.
What a valid MADRS rating contains
A valid administration uses interview information and observation across ten domains. They cover observed and reported sadness, inner tension, sleep, appetite, concentration, activity, ability to feel, pessimistic thoughts, and suicidal thoughts.
The clinician records one 0-to-6 rating for every domain and adds all ten values. Keep the edition, assessment interval, item ratings, rater method, and completion date with the total. Those details are necessary when comparing results over time.
Method affects meaning.
The MADRS is clinician-administered. Survey Doctor does not offer it through the patient take-assessment route.
Manual and historical totals are limited
Current manual entry accepts one whole-number total from 0 to 60. It does not capture the ten item ratings, prove that an authorized form was used, confirm completeness, or show the suicidal-thoughts response.
Some older imported records also contain only a total from an incompatible source form. Survey Doctor preserves those numbers as limited history. They stay outside current interpretation and comparison. Their missing items cannot be reconstructed.
Do not guess.
A total from a verified outside administration is still not equivalent to a current native digital result. Keep the source form and method with it.
Provenance matters.
Suicidal thoughts require separate review
The tenth MADRS domain concerns thoughts about death and suicide. For native item-level records, Survey Doctor marks any value above 0 for direct safety review. That product rule is intentionally conservative. It does not replace a suicide-risk assessment.
A total alone cannot show whether the tenth item contributed points. Review the actual response and current safety directly. Follow the organization's suicide-risk protocol rather than waiting for a total or band.
Safety comes first.
If you need help now. In the US, Call 988 or text 988. Call 911 if you are in immediate danger. Outside the US, contact your local emergency number or find support in your country.
Related depression questionnaires
The QIDS-SR-16 score guide and PHQ-9 score guide explain depression questionnaires that people answer themselves. They use different items, methods, and score meanings. Their results cannot be converted into a MADRS total.
The bottom line
Survey Doctor's current digital MADRS total is not clinically interpretable because the visible answer key cannot reliably identify the intended ratings. Use an authorized clinician form for a new assessment. For an old record, retain its items and administration details, and treat any total-only result as limited history.
The MADRS assessment page documents the current form boundary in more detail.