Development of a Taiwanese computerized database for psychiatric consultation in a general hospital

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of a modified questionnaire in psychiatric consultation and a new computerized software at one general hospital in Taiwan. Method: The Micro-Cares Clinical Information System for Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry (CISCL), an English language-based patient management application, has multiple clinical variables that were translated into Mandarin Chinese. The Mandarin Chinese version of the Micro-Cares Questionnaire (MCMQ) was further modified after extensive testing and clinical use by two staff psychiatrists and eight senior resident doctors. In addition, the structure of the Mandarin Chinese version of the Micro-Cares CISCL Program (MCMP) was created for direct information entry through a specialized Microsoft Access-based support module. Results: The MCMQ has been adapted to regular medical practice. Up to 66% of the consultation cases (618/913 patients) were recorded in 2003. Among those registered, 519 (84%) received psychiatric diagnoses. Eight of the 10 participants evaluated agreed that the MCMQ was clinically applicable. Conclusion: MCMQ and MCMP have been routinely applied in the clinical, administrative, research and educational services of our psychiatric consultation. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.