Online Mental Health Assessment in a psychiatry emergency department in adults using touchscreen mobile devices: A randomised controlled trial

Objective: To determine whether completion of an online mental health self-assessment by patients who are waiting in the emergency department can save clinician time taken to complete clinical assessment and documentation.Methods: Patients presenting to a psychiatric emergency department for a period of 6 months were allocated by week of presentation to either the intervention arm (online mental health self-assessment, followed by a clinical interview) or the control arm (usual assessment) arm on a random basis. Time at the beginning and end of the interview was recorded and used to derive interview time. Similarly, time at the beginning and end of the clinical documentation was recorded and used to derive the time to complete clinical documentation.Results: Of 168 patients who presented during the study period, 69 (38.55%) agreed to participate, 33 completed the usual assessment and 30 completed the online mental health self-assessment followed by a clinical interview. Patients receiving usual care had a statistically significant, t(61) = 2.15, p = 0.035, longer interview duration (M = 48.7 minutes, SD = 19.8) compared with those in the online mental health self-assessment arm (M = 38.9 minutes, SD = 15.9). There was no statistically significant difference between groups for documentation time, t(61) = -0.64, p = 0.52.Conclusion: Online mental health self-assessment was associated with a statistically significant reduction in interview time by approximately 10 minutes without increasing documentation time. While online mental health self-assessment is not appropriate for all patients in the emergency department setting, it is likely to yield greater benefits in less acute settings.