Efficacy of Telepsychiatry in the Treatment of Depression

US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Depression

Treatments: Procedure: Telepsychiatry

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT00012610

ACC 97-034

Details and patient eligibility

About

Telepsychiatry is a novel means of providing expert psychiatric treatment to patients who live far from a source of care. If it can be demonstrated that treatment via telepsychiatry is as effective as in-person treatment, then many individuals with psychiatric illness will have easy access to psychiatric care, even if they live in geographically remote areas.

Full description

Background:

Telepsychiatry is a novel means of providing expert psychiatric treatment to patients who live far from a source of care. If it can be demonstrated that treatment via telepsychiatry is as effective as in-person treatment, then many individuals with psychiatric illness will have easy access to psychiatric care, even if they live in geographically remote areas.

Objectives:

The major goal of this study was to determine whether treatment of depressive disorders via telepsychiatry is as effective as in-person treatment. In addition, this study was designed to determine if depressed patients are as compliant and as satisfied with telepsychiatry as with in-person treatment. Another goal was to compare the cost and cost-effectiveness of remote treatment via telepsychiatry to in-person treatment.

Methods:

In this randomized controlled trial, veterans who presented with depression to any of three VA Maryland Health Care facilities with a SCID-IV depression diagnosis and a Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D) score of 16 or above were eligible for participation. Eligible veterans were randomized to either "in-person" treatment or "remote" treatment. Treatment occurred over six months and consisted of psychotropic medication and psycho-education concerning the disease, medications, and side effects. The major outcome variables included changes in Ham-D depression ratings and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) self-reported depression ratings.

Status:

Completed.

Enrollment: 119 estimated patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Depression, Hamilton 16 or above, SCID-IV depression diagnosis

Exclusion Criteria:

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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119 participants in 1 patient group

Arm 1

Other group

Treatment:

Procedure: Telepsychiatry