An interventional study of Clinical assessment by emergency psychiatrist and Psychiatric consultation booked through Med@Psy platform in Psychiatric Adults Patients, sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer. Recruiting at 2 sites in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-07.
Sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research
In the absence of easy access to second-line ambulatory care, the number of 'inappropriate' psychiatric emergency visits is increasing, with emergency departments becoming the gateway to mental health care.
This is the context in which the 'med@psy' system was set up in the Toulon-Provence-Mediterranean metropolitan area by a private psychiatrist. It facilitates access to psychiatric second referral for General Practitioners (GPs) by pooling the 48-hour supply of psychiatric consultations in real time. It is assumed that this system will facilitate access to outpatient psychiatric care and help to optimize the organisation of patient care and follow-up. The aim of this study is to evaluate the med@psy system in the care pathway for patients with psychiatric disorders.
This study main objective is to compare the proportion of patients with a psychiatric disorder who will receive outpatient follow-up 1 month after a visit to a psychiatric emergency department without hospitalization (Group 1) versus 1 month after a consultation with a psychiatrist within 48 hours via the med@psy system (Group 2).
General practitioners (GPs) are the gateway to the healthcare system and therefore the first point of contact for mental health. A significant proportion of psychiatric disorders can be treated in primary care if GPs have easy access to psychiatric support. However, they are faced with difficulties in accessing secondary care. Around 9/10 consider that it is more difficult to obtain specialist advice than for other disciplines, and say they have difficulty referring a patient for mental health care.
In the absence of easy access to second-line ambulatory care, the number of 'inappropriate' psychiatric emergency visits is increasing, with emergency departments becoming the gateway to mental health care. It is recognized that the deployment of earlier and more graduated care reduces the intensity of disorders, prescriptions for time off work and psychotropic drugs, and hospitalizations.
A new, more preventive, efficient and cost-effective approach to mental health is emerging, with psychiatrists working closely with GPs. This is the context in which the 'med@psy' system was set up in the Toulon-Provence-Mediterranean metropolitan area by a private psychiatrist. It facilitates access to psychiatric second referral for GPs by pooling the 48-hour supply of psychiatric consultations in real time. We assume that this system will facilitate access to outpatient psychiatric care and help to optimize the organisation of patient care and follow-up. The aim of this study is to evaluate the med@psy system in the care pathway for patients with psychiatric disorders.
This study main objective is to compare the proportion of patients with a psychiatric disorder who will received outpatient follow-up 1 month after a visit to a psychiatric emergency department without hospitalization (Group 1) versus 1 month after a consultation with a psychiatrist within 48 hours via the med@psy system (Group 2).
Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer is the lead sponsor of 78 studies on the registry; 20 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Adult patients presenting to the emergency department of the Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer, whether or not referred by their general practitioner.
Other: Clinical assessment by emergency psychiatrist
Adult patients referred by their general practioner for a psychiatric consultation via the med@psy system.
Other: Psychiatric consultation booked through Med@Psy platform
After a clinical assessment by the emergency department psychiatrist which does not lead to hospitalization, the patient will be given a psychiatric interview and sent home.
The patient will be seen within 48 hours after the consultation with his or her general practitioner by a psychiatrist taking part in the study.
Number of patients with a consultation with a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a general practioner one month after the consultation via the med@psy system or the visit to emergency department
Setting up outpatient follow-up from a binary point of view (outpatient follow-up absent or present). This will be defined by whether or not each group has had at least one consultation with a psychiatrist (apart from emergency psychiatric consultations or psychiatric consultations set up at 48 hours with the system), a psychologist or a general practitioner. It will be evaluated by means of a telephone survey carried out among patients 1 month after consultation with a psychiatrist via the med@psy system or a visit to the emergency department.
Time frame: 1 month
Outpatient follow-up at three months
Outpatient follow-up will be evaluated by the proportion of patients who have had at least one consultation with a psychiatrist, psychologist or general practitioner, in each group, by means of a telephone survey carried out with patients 3 months after the consultation or visit to the emergency department.
Time frame: 3 months
Medical partners commitment (part 1)
Medical partners commitment will be assessed by the number of GPs and psychiatrists registered in the Med@psy program.
Time frame: 1 year
Medical partners commitment (part 2)
Medical partners commitment will be assessed by the number of patients treated via the program.
Time frame: 1 year
Medical partners commitment (part 3)
Medical partners commitment will be assessed by the frequency of use of Med@psy program.
Time frame: 1 year
Medical partners commitment (part 4)
Medical partners commitment will be assessed by the average time between referral by the GPs and the psychiatric consultations offered through the Med@psy program, 12 months after its start of use.
Time frame: 1 year
Med@psy platform patients characteristics
Description of the patient population who get a psychiatric consultation within 48 hours through the Med@psy platform but who don't come to the consultation. The elements which will be evaluated are : age, sex, place of residence, pathology and reason for referral by a GP.
Time frame: 1 month
Functioning Global Assessment
Overall psychological, social and professional functioning will be assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), which will be carried out by a psychologist during a teleconsultation with the patient at 1 and 3 months. Each time, GAF score will be assessed by a second psychologist on the basis of teleconsultation report and the two scores calculated will be compared. In case of different conclusions, the average of the two scores will be taken into account. GAF is a scale used to rate how serious a mental illness may be. It measures how much a person's symptoms affect their day-to-day life on a scale of 0 to 100. 100 corresponds to a better ability to handle daily activities.
Time frame: 3 months
Plan to share: No
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer