title: Client acceptability and quality of life--telepsychiatry compared to in-person consultation.
abstract: We evaluated client satisfaction and one-month mental health outcomes for telepsychiatry clients compared with those undergoing a face-to-face psychiatric consultation. Clients were asked to complete an SF-12 health survey before the consultation, a satisfaction survey after the consultation, and were contacted for a one-month follow-up SF-12 survey by telephone. Forty-eight of the 62 initial responders (77%) were available for contact by telephone after one month. Telepsychiatry clients demonstrated significant improvements on pre- and post-SF-12 mental health measures (t = 3.7; P = 0.001), while there was no change for the in-person group (t = 1.0; P = 0.35). Telepsychiatry clients felt that they could present the same information as in person (93%), were satisfied with their session (96%), and were comfortable in their ability to talk (85%); this was similar to the in-person clients. They reflected slightly lower levels of satisfaction regarding feeling supported and encouraged than did the in-person clients. Both telepsychiatry clients and traditional face-to-face psychiatry clients were satisfied with their experience of mental health care service provision, and mental health improvements were evident in the telepsychiatry patients.
authors.affiliation: Alberta Mental Health Board, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Urness
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wass
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bulger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D049269:Videoconferencing