Patient education and medication compliance are priorities for outpatient psychiatric care, for both improved health and relapse prevention. The physician workload in the outpatient setting is often heavy and with insufficient time for medication education to take place. Our project's goal is to improve both teaching efficacy and cost-effectiveness through computer-assisted-instruction of patients concerning their medication and its potential side-effects. To reach this goal, we envision MedEd, a computer workstation interfaced with CD-ROM-based high-resolution computer sound and graphics. This combination includes an interactive graphic interface capable of maintaining interest and effectively teaching the material. Based on either an Apple Macintosh, or an IBM PC compatible computer, the station would be placed in outpatient clinics such as Community Mental Health Centers. Outpatients will be able to learn of their newly prescribed medications through an individualized audio-visual format. At the conclusion of an educational session, a written report summarizing that patient's learning experience will be printed for both the patient and the medical record. The initial project (Phase 1) will involve the production of an educational sequence for one medication, haloperidol. The workstation's efficacy will be tested using pre- and post-tests on a sample of psychiatry outpatients in the Schizophrenia Module at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
