Psychiatric Screening with Automated Multiphasic Health Testing in the VA Admission Procedure
RICHARD E. GORDON M.D., PH.D.1,
LESLIE BIELEN M.ED.2, , and
ANNE WATTS 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla. 32601 and Research Director, Automated Multiphasic Health Testing Center, University of Florida College of Medicine
2 Research Assistant, Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla. 32601
A total of 241 veterans who applied for admission to a Veterans Administration hospital underwent automated multiphasic health testing and services (AMHTS). The authors compare test findings with the admitting physician's decision as to whether or not a patient should be worked up by the psychiatry service for admission. The findings indicate that an AMHTS system may be able to assist the admitting physician in making this decision: Discriminant function analysis from the patient's history questionnaire simulated the physician's decision fairly well.
