About

Our interest in medical interviewing skills led us to construct and analyze a method for instructing and measuring them. Participation in instruction groups early in our studies convinced us of the importance of the medical interview for both patient and physician. Moreover, it triggered the desire to enhance the quality of our own interviewing skills and to gain insight into the intricacies of the consultation process. 

The construction of the Maastricht History-taking and Advice Checklist, as the MAAS Medical Interview was originally called, and the subsequent studies in reliability and validity came about due to the enthusiasm of inexperience: neither of us realized beforehand the dangers, pitfalls and demands in terms of time, energy and knowledge that would need to be met.

Alfons A.M. Crijnen and Herro F. Kraan are both psychiatrists, but were, at the time of construction, a general practitioner and psychiatrist involved in the education of medical students and residents in the Netherlands.