Efficacy of Telepsychiatry in the Treatment of Depression

April 6, 2015 updated by: US Department of Veterans Affairs
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.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed 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.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

119

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201
        • Baltimore VA Medical Center VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Arm 1
Procedure: Telepsychiatry

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

US Department of Veterans Affairs

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Paul E. Ruskin, MD, Baltimore VA Medical Center VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2000

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 14, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 15, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

March 16, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 7, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2015

Last Verified

April 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ACC 97-034

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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