Comparing Telepsychiatry and In-person Outcomes

Comparing Patient Outcomes and Cost of Psychiatric Care Provided Through Videoconferencing With Psychiatric Care Provided In-person.

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.

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.

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