Page "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" Paragraph 3

Many mental health professionals use the manual to determine and help communicate a patient's diagnosis after an evaluation ; hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies in the US also generally require a ' five axis ' DSM diagnosis of all the patients treated.

The DSM can be used clinically in this way, and also to categorize patients using diagnostic criteria for research purposes.

Studies done on specific disorders often recruit patients whose symptoms match the criteria listed in the DSM for that disorder.

An international survey of psychiatrists in 66 countries comparing use of the ICD-10 and DSM-IV found the former was more often used for clinical diagnosis while the latter was more valued for research.