title: "Telepsychometry": a remote psychometry consultation in clinical gerontology: preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluation of the clinical feasibility of remote psychometric consultation with elderly patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Remote consultation with six women and four men (average age 87) was compared with a standard consultation. An interview and two psychometric tests were used: the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and the Clock Face Test (CFT), which were administered by a clinical psychologist and controlled by a psychologist observer who remained in the room with the patient. The experimental setting consisted of two rooms linked by a coaxial cable. Each room was equipped with a camera, television screen, and microphone. The clinician was able to operate the mobile camera in the patient's room by remote control. The clinician was assisted by a computer, which helped to focus on standardized points. A video camera recorded the consultation for documentation purposes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Decreased performance was observed in the remote versus the standard consultation for both tests (MMSE: p = 0.008; CFT: p = 0.006). Physiologic hearing loss may have been responsible for a fall in the patients' attention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Remote psychometric consultation can be applied successfully to the psychological examination of elderly patients provided that communication problems are solved.
authors.affiliation: L12G, Laboratoire Inter Universitaire de Gérontologie de Grenoble, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montani
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Billaud
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Couturier
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fluchaire
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lemaire
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malterre
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lauvernay
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Piquard
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frossard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franco
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D019114:Remote Consultation