What widely used interview procedure is a useful diagnostic tool to help clinicians cover areas that are not ordinarily a part of a clinical interview?

mental status examination

Explanation:

The Mental Status Exam is analogous to the physical exam: it is a series of observations and examinations at one point in time. Focused questions and observations can reveal "normal" or pathological findings. Although our observations occur in the context of an interview and may therefore be ordered differently for each patient, the report of our findings is ordered and "paints a picture" of a patient's appearance, thinking, emotion and cognition. The data from the Mental Status Exam, combined with personal and family histories and Psychiatric Review of Systems, forms the data base from which psychiatric diagnoses are formed.