Ronald A. Giannetti

Computers in mental health care delivery: A review of the evolution toward interventionally relevant on-line processing

The history of the application of computer technology to mental health care delivery is reviewed. Three separate trends are identified which suggest movement from batch processing administrative systems toward the development of interventionally relevant clinical systems based upon on-line computer technology. Suggestions for future research are made.

Real-time psychological assessment and evaluation of psychiatric patients

The utility of an on-line computer system for psychiatric patient evaluations is discussed. The on-line system implemented at the Psychiatric Service of the Salt Lake City VA Hospital is functionally described. Hardware and systems programming are specified.

Interventional relevance and retrofit programming: Concepts for the improvement of clinician acceptance of computer-generated assessment reports

A brief historical review of research on the use of computers in mental health service delivery is presented. The computer-assisted psychiatric assessment project (PAU) at the Salt Lake City VA Hospital is briefly described in the perspective of previous research. It is noted that the initial design for the PAU was deficient in the development of a computer generated reporting scheme which is totally acceptable to clinicians. Two conceptual innovations, interventionally relevant reporting and retrofit programming, are introduced. These are described as providing solutions to the problem of obtaining clinician acceptance of computer-generated assessment reports. Pilot research on the use of these concepts is presented.

Design for an on-line computerized system for MMPI interpretation

The development of an on-line MMPI interpretative program is outlined. Profiles interpreted by this program are first examined to determine whether a standard or locally known profile type fits. If so, an appropriate narrative report is printed. If there is no match with a known profile type, statements from several scale-by-scale interpretative sources are organized into a logical report. Methods have been developed to eliminate duplication and contradiction from different sources of information. Examples of output from this program are presented and advantages of the program are discussed.

Development of an on-line problem-oriented system for the evaluation of mental health treatment services

Current on-line assessment applications are limited to mimicking instruments designed for paper and pencil. The development of an instrument designed specifically for on-line technology is described. The instrument provides research data on treatment effectiveness, clinical information for treatment planning, and management information for resource allocation.

Organizational preparedness for change: Staff acceptance of an on-line computer-assisted assessment system

An on-line assessment system is briefly described. Previous positive evaluation studies are summarized. Results of studies of staff acceptance and staff preparedness for change are reported. Findings are interpreted in terms of the need for planning for change. Implications related to the acceptance of other on-line computer systems in psychology are discussed.

The potential for dynamic assessment systems using on-line computer technology

The potentials of on-line assessment will not be realized by using instruments originally designed for paper-and pencil administration. On-line technology is a fundamentally different medium. Some possible strategies for designing a dynamic assessment system specifically for on line use arc presented.

Psychological systems questionnaire: a decision-relevant patient screening test designed for on-line administration.

Developments in the field of computerized psychological assessment are reviewed. It is pointed out that the on-line computer medium differs radically from the traditional paper-and-pencil medium for psychological testing. This new medium calls for new types of instruments that are psychometrically well designed. The construction of one such instrument. the Psychological Systems Questionnaire, is described. The advantages of this approach are discussed.

Computer Technology In Community Mental Health Centers: Current Status And Future Prospects

Previously reported surveys in community mental health suggest an increasing use of computer technology. This paper reports the results of a 1978 survey of the directors of 149 community mental health centers. These results indicate moderate current use of computers primarily in administrative areas. The directors are expressing a strong need to improve data processing. Measures of organizational readiness for change suggest that the centers are ready to increase this use of computers but do not possess the resources to do so. The relationships of organizational readiness for change variables current use and perceived need data processing are examined.