Mental health assessment method and kiosk-based system for implementation

Abstract

A method and system for assessing the mental state or behavioral disorder of a subject is disclosed. The system includes a display, an input device, a processor, a database and matrix for converting the responses to one or more assessment scores. The disclosure also relates to a method for treating a behavioral disorder using the method and a system described herein.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for assessment of a mental state of a human subject, the method comprising:
 prompting the subject with at least one question on a display of a system for assessment of the mental state of the subject;
 recording at least one response to the at least one question in the system; 
   calculating an assessment score based on the at least one response, wherein the at least one response comprises a long form answer;
 determining by at least one health professional, based on the at least one response and/or the assessment score, the mental state of the subject; 
 incorporating the mental state of the subject into an electronic health record associated with the subject; 
 retrieving a medical history of the subject from a database and accepting at least one attribute from the medical history for the determination of the mental state of the subject, and/or 
 presenting one or more questions about the medical history of the subject and receiving at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history of the subject for the determination of the mental state of the subject, 
 wherein the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history triggers the system to present an automatic alert for review by the at least one health professional if the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history matches an alert event in an alert database; and 
 wherein the at least one response comprises a long-form answer and wherein the system comprises the display, an input device, a processer, a database and a matrix for converting the at least one response to an assessment score. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising analyzing the at least one response by two health professionals. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one health professional is a mental health professional. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one health professional is a physician. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the two health professionals are a physician and a mental health professional. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the physician is a primary care physician of the subject. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determined mental state is a behavioral disorder selected from the group consisting of depression, substance abuse, risk for bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: collecting demographic information regarding the subject. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mental state of the subject is determined based on the assessment score. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a depression severity questionnaire is presented to the subject when the assessment score indicates the presence of depression in the subject. 
     
     
         11 . A method for treating a behavioral disorder in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising:
 prompting the subject with at least one question on a display of a system for assessment of a behavioral disorder of the subject;   recording at least one response to the system, wherein the at least one response comprises a long-form answer;   analyzing the at least one response by at least one health professional;   determining by the at least one health professional, based on the at least one response, the behavioral disorder of the subject; and   incorporating the behavioral disorder of the subject into an electronic health record associated with the subject;   retrieving a medical history of the subject from a database and accepting at least one attribute from the medical history for the determination of the behavioral disorder of the subject, and/or   presenting one or more questions about the medical history of the subject and receiving at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history of the subject for the determination of the behavioral disorder of the subject,   wherein the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history triggers the system to present an automatic alert for review by the at least one health professional if the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history matches an alert event in an alert database; and   administering to the subject at least one treatment effective for the behavioral disorder, wherein the system comprises the display, an input device, a processer and a database.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , comprising analyzing the at least one response by two health professionals. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein at least one health professional is a mental health professional. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein at least one health professional is a physician. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the two health professionals are a physician and a mental health professional. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising: converting the at least one response into an assessment score based on a matrix. 
     
     
         17 . A system for assessment of a mental state of a subject, the system comprising:
 a computer-readable memory, the computer-readable memory configured to store computer-executable instructions;   an input device configured to receive an input from the subject; and   a processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising:   prompting the subject with at least one question in a system for assessment of mental state on a display;   recording at least one response to the at least one assessment, wherein the at least one response comprises a long-form answer;   converting the at least one response into at least one assessment score;   generating an output comprising the at least one assessment score for assessment of the mental state of the subject by at least one health professional,
 retrieving a medical history of the subject from a database and accepting at least one attribute from the medical history for the determination of the mental state of the subject, and/or 
   presenting one or more questions about the medical history of the subject and receiving at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history of the subject for the determination of the mental state of the subject,   wherein the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history triggers the system to present an automatic alert for review by the at least one health professional if the at least one attribute from the medical history and/or the at least one response to the one or more questions about the medical history matches an alert event in an alert database; and   generating a report of the mental state of the subject based on the assessment by the at least one health professional and incorporating the report into an electronic health record associated with the subject.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise: collecting demographic information regarding the user.