Transfer of a telemedicine intervention for mental disorders: a comparison between RCT results and regional routine...

Telemedicine for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders was found to be successful in a randomised controlled trial (RCT); this intervention was then implemented in routine care in the Western Pomerania region in Germany. This made it possible to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention under routine care conditions and compare it with the results of the RCT.For this retrospective controlled analysis, data from routine care (2011-2022) were analysed together with data from the previous RCT (2009-2010). A three-arm comparison (routine care, previous RCT intervention group, previous RCT control group) on the primary outcome of symptom severity (BSI-18) and a longitudinal analysis of the routine care data were conducted. The telemedical intervention was conducted in the university hospital's psychiatric outpatient clinic in north-eastern Germany. All adult patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of depression, anxiety or somatoform disorders could participate after discharge from the hospital. The telemedicine sessions included structured verbal questionnaires and conversational therapy concerning treatment goals and tasks. Repeated measures Welch ANOVA with the BSI-18 Global Severity Index and subscales (depression, anxiety and somatisation) was performed. A multivariate regression was conducted on the longitudinal regular care data.The n=254 subjects in the telemedical care in routine care arm (181 women, mean [95%CI] age 45.5 [44.0-47.1] years; 6-month follow-up) showed a BSI-18 score improvement M=- 4.1 [-5.3,-2.9], F(2)=3.50, p<0.05 compared to the preceding RCT intervention arms (61 women, mean [95%CI] age 44.7 [41.7-47.6] years. Telemedical care showed a significant difference in BSI-18 scores over a 10-year follow-up: M=- 3.9 [-5.4,-2.5], p<0.0001.The positive results of the 2009 RCT were replicable in routine care. The more patient-centred approach resulted in improved outcomes in this telemedical intervention.