Question: In adults being assessed by mental health services, how effective are assessments conducted via telephone, compared to face to face, in improving patient and service outcomes?

Answer:

Plain language summary

There is limited evidence into telephone assessments when compared to face to face assessments for adults being assessed by mental health services. High quality research is needed in this area for improving patient and service outcomes.

Clinical and research implications

No definite clinical or research implications may be made based on the evidence presented in this BEST summary. There were no recent, well-conducted randomised controlled trials that compared telephone versus face-to-face assessments. Two studies compared video conferencing versus face-to-face modalities - one compared these modalities on providing psychiatric assessments, and the other compared these modalities on clinical outcomes.

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