Agreement between face-to-face and telephone-administered mood ratings in patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder

We examined the reliability and level of agreement between the telephone and face-to-face administration of two mood-rating scales (HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD) in patients with rapid cycling bipolar disorder (RCBD). Two clinicians administered the HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD to 14 outpatients with RCBD. Patients received consecutive phone and face-to-face mood ratings in a randomized order. Using a paired t-test, no significant differences were found when comparing HIGH-SAD and SIGH-SAD scores administered face-to-face and over the phone. There was a high correlation between the face-to-face and phone administration of both scales as measured by intraclass correlation (r = 0.94 for SIGH-SAD; r = 0.85 for HIGH-SAD). Our results support the use of phone-administered mood ratings as a reliable and convenient method to monitor patients with RCBD.