Teleconsultation in psychology: the use of videolinks for interviewing and assessing elderly patients

Although elderly people are one of the major target groups for telemedicine applications, they remain under-represented in studies of teleconsultation. Videolinks appear to be easily used by many elderly people as a means of communicating with health-care staff, including psychologists and doctors. To date, studies of psychometric teleconsultation have been confined to screening tests, or have used very small numbers of patients. There is a need to examine the reliability of more complex psychometric batteries and to use larger samples of older people. Some recommendations for conducting clinical interviews and psychometric tests are presented, based on clinical experience and a review of the literature. The importance of ergonomic considerations, patient comfort and professional preparation are explained.