Efficacy of telemedicine consultation compared to in-person consultation for patients with major mental illness: An open-label randomised control trial

Despite the wide use of telemedicine across India, the efficacy of telemedicine over in-person consultations has yet to be established for mental health. This is one of the barriers to the broader utilisation and expansion of the services from the patient’s and clinicians’ points of view. We could not find similar studies in the Indian context. Paper to public health translation of telemedicine guidelines requires evidence for its usefulness across contexts, disorders, and demographics. The current study will help generate evidence for the feasibility of telemedicine compared to in-person consultations for patients with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD and depression. The hypothesis for this trial is that, the efficacy of telemedicine will be equal to an in-person consultation for severe mental illness, and telemedicine will be cost-effective compared to in-person consultations for the same purpose.