QuickSCID-5 is a fully structured diagnostic instrument that employs interview questions adapted from the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5(R) (SCID-5), widely regarded to be the "gold standard" structured psychiatric diagnostic interview since the initial release of SCID in 1985. The impetus for developing the QuickSCID-5 was to create a briefer, more time-efficient version of the SCID designed to be administered usually in 30 minutes or less. The shorter administration time results from the fact that QuickSCID-5 consists almost entirely of closed-ended questions that can be answered "YES" or "NO" by the patient, dispensing with the requirement in the standard SCID that the interviewer elicit descriptive examples and ask enough follow-up questions until the interviewer has enough information to determine whether the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria are met.

QuickSCID has a modular design so that only modules of interest need be administered. Modules include an optional Overview, Module A (Mood Episodes and Disorders), Module B (Psychotic Symptoms Screen), Module C (Alcohol and Other Substance Use Disorders), Module D (Anxiety Disorders), Module E (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder); Module F (Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), Module G (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), Module H (Eating Disorders), Module I (Screening for Other Disorders), and Module J (Rule Out Mental Disorders Due to a Medical Condition and Substance/Medication-induced Mental Disorders).