Pilot studies of telemedicine for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Remote video psychiatric assessment holds promise for providing expert consultation to underserved areas. The authors assessed the reliability of rating scales administered in person and over video to patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.


METHODS
Rating scales for obsessive-compulsive, depressive, and anxiety symptoms were administered in person (N = 16) and by means of narrow-bandwidth video transmission over one digital telephone line (N = 10). Interrater reliability was determined for each condition; for the video interviews one rater sat at the local site in front of the videoconsulting apparatus and asked the questions, and the patient and the second rater sat at the remote site.


RESULTS
Reliability was excellent in both conditions, and there was no degradation in reliability when the assessment was conducted over video.


CONCLUSIONS
Telemedicine resulted in near-perfect interrater agreement on rating scale scores. Its use for other disorders and for more in-depth assessments should be explored.
Baer
L
L
Consolidated Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
Cukor
P
P
Jenike
M A
MA
Leahy
L
L
O'Laughlen
J
J
Coyle
J T
JT
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017216:Telemedicine; D013689:Telephone; D013690:Television