Psychiatric Disorders
Conditions
Keywords
Telepsychiatry, Videoconference, Psychiatric consultation, Equivalence trial
Brief summary
Psychiatric consultation and short-term follow-up will produce equivalent clinical outcomes and be less costly when provided via videoconferencing (telepsychiatry) than when provided in-person.
Detailed description
We predict that patients referred by their family physician for a psychiatric consultation and, if needed, short-term follow-up will have equivalent clinical outcomes when seen via telepsychiatry as compared to those patients seen in-person. We also predicted that telepsychiatry will be cheaper than in-person care.Study Design: a single-centre equivalence trial.We will use a sample size calculation and analytical methods that are specifically tailored for equivalence trials.
Interventions
DEVICEVideoconference equipment (telepsychiatry)
Sponsors
Ontario Mental Health Foundation
NORTH Network
London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* patients referred by their family physicians for psychiatric consultation * scores in the dysfunctional range on the Brief Symptom Inventory
Exclusion criteria
* patients incapable of consenting to the research * patients referred for medico-legal or insurance reports
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Brief Symptom Inventory | — |
| Cost of providing the psychiatric services | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Quality of Life Inventory | — |
| Client Satisfaction Questionnaire | — |
| Hospital Utilization | — |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed