Computer-assisted clinical diagnostics

Today, computers are increasingly used in mental health care. They are increasingly used for online therapy and for psychological diagnostics. They have also been used for psychological assessment and as a tool for scoring, storing and processing data since the 1950s. They were used in data interpretation from the 1960s onwards. Today, the use of computer diagnostics in health care involves individuals completing and taking one or more tests via computer, and their scores are automatically scored, stored and processed. Sometimes psychological reports are also generated directly from the scores by the computer. Computer diagnostics can be used in tests where it is not mandatory to have a test leader. There is little research on computer diagnostics in the Netherlands compared to the United States. Most of the research published in the Netherlands concerns the MMPI. In addition to personality tests, computer diagnostics are also used in neuropsychological tests. Opinions about the reliability of this method differ widely. Advantages of computer diagnostics are that it is more reliable to score with computers than to score by hand. Efficiency is also a big advantage of computer diagnostics. It costs much less (in time and costs) to run tests per computer. Another advantage is that there is a reduction in the social desirability of participants. For example, it appears that alcohol consumption is reported higher in computer diagnostics than on paper-and-pencil tests in which a test leader is present. In computer diagnostics there is the ability to increase the sense of anonymity. Computers have technical advantages, such as the use of audiovisual effects, spoken text or extra-large letters. The disadvantages of computer diagnostics are that tests offered per computer look different from traditional paper-and-pencil tests