Release date: May 27, 2007 Available for credit through: May 27, 2008
Program Description
Discontinuation of treatment has been identified as a grave concern and obstacle to optimal outcomes in patients with schizophrenia, and a major contributor to discontinuation of treatment is lack of patient adherence to treatment. To improve compliance among patients, psychiatrists first must identify noncompliant patients and then institute a treatment plan that will take into consideration the barriers to compliance that many patients face. Clinicians also must examine their own barriers to optimizing patient adherence, such as whether they are employing guideline recommendations and taking advantage of available strategies and options.
Finally, clinicians must have strategies for monitoring compliance on an ongoing basis and in a way that patients will accept. This activity is intended to address each of these items through expert commentary provided from a highly respected psychiatrist in schizophrenia.
Target Audience
Community-based psychiatrists
Educational Objectives
Describe partial and nonadherence and the impact that they have on patient outcomes
Screen patients to determine if they are nonadherent to current treatment regimens
Discuss various treatment strategies presented in clinical guidelines for improving medication adherence in schizophrenia
Compare and contrast the benefits and disadvantages of various pharmacotherapies on treatment adherence
Foster a better therapeutic alliance between psychiatrists and patients with schizophrenia
The views and opinions expressed in this activity are those of the faculty. They do not reflect the views of Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, any other manufacturer of pharmaceuticals or ArcMesa, LLC.
The recommendations made in this program are based upon a combination of randomized clinical trials, current guidelines, and the clinical practice experience of the participating panelists. Any medications, diagnostic procedures or treatments discussed by the panelists should not be utilized without evaluation of their patient's conditions. Participants are urged to consult the full prescribing information on any drug mentioned in this activity for recommended dosage, indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse effects before prescribing any medication.
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John M. Kane, M.D.
Chairman, Department of Psychiatry
The Zucker Hillside Hospital
Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neuroscience
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine
