A comparison of psychiatrist evaluation and patient symptom report in a jail telepsychiatry clinic.

The effectiveness of a jail telepsychiatry service was evaluated by comparing psychiatrist and inmate report of psychopathology. Sixty-two inmates completed a total of 107 consultations at a rural county jail via interactive televideo. The inmates completed the Symptom Rating Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the psychiatrist completed a Psychiatrist Evaluation Form including the Clinical Global Impression Scale--Severity Index (CGI) after each teleconsultation. Most inmates were rated mild to moderately ill on the CGI. There was a significant, high correlation between telepsychiatrist evaluation on the CGI and inmate report of overall symptoms on the SCL-90-R [r(101) = 0.35, p < 0.05]. The findings support the effectiveness of telepsychiatric evaluation for the jail population. The patterns of telepsychiatric use in the county jail as well as future directions in this setting are described.