The Use of Information Technology in Psychiatric Assessment

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical and empirical overview of ergonomic and other Issues relating to Information technology use by a particular special needs group, that of psychiatric patients. The application of Information technology to assessment in computer-based testing and computer-mediated videotelephonic Interviewing is used to examine these issues. These are discussed in terms of hardware, software and user-interface considerations, and it is argued that the selection and design of systems must reflect the demands of the tasks used in assessment and also the characteristics of the psychiatric population.