Online Mental Health assessment (OMHA) in a Psychiatry Emergency Department in adults using touchscreen mobile devices: a randomised controlled trial.

After triage, during their waiting time in the Emergency Department, participating patients are given a touchscreen device to complete an online assessment which collects clinical information across key aspects of the assessment (e.g., presenting complaint, substance use, family history, developmental history) as mandated by NSW Health. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes for each client to complete the online assessment using the device, during which the clients are offered supervision and assistance by a Research Assistant and clinicians. After completion of the online assessment, the clinician who will do a face-to-face clinical interview will be notified, and the data will be prepopulated into an editable assessment form accessible to the clinician via computer with secure access via the Health Service) prior to commencing the clinical interview. The face-to-face clinical interview is expected to be relatively shorter and more focused compared to the usual process of clinical interview, which does not have the online assessment component. Also clinician time to document the assessment is expected to be shorter since most of the required clinical information would already be available and documented. After completing the interview, the clinician will finalise the prepopulated assessment documentation as required (for example, by adding notes after verifying or clarifying the self-reported clinical information as indicated by their clinical judgement). Who will deliver the intervention: mental health clinicians. Mode of delivery: face-to-face interview. Number of times the intervention will be delivered: once. Location: Emergency Departments of Hunter New England Local Health District.