The Use of Telehealth for Forensic Psychiatric and Psychological Pre-Sentence Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic increased telehealth use among forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. While telehealth has been studied in clinical contexts, its use in forensic assessments remains limited. This study compared 243 pre-sentence reports (105 telehealth, 138 in-person) and 220 sentencing comments from the County Court of Victoria. Findings indicated overall equivalence with key differences: telehealth reports were longer, highlighted limitations, included more mental status details, and showed greater diagnostic certainty. Sentencing comments referenced telehealth reports positively and in greater detail, while in-person reports had more ‘excluded’ diagnoses restated. These findings provide insight into telehealth’s role and offer recommendations for its use.