Adherence to Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia: Clinical Considerations-Lecture Presentation

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this video, Dr. Oliver Freudenreich discusses the importance of adherence to antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia. He explains that adherence is a complex issue that involves patient attitudes towards medication, barriers to adherence, and actual compliance behavior. He emphasizes that poor adherence can lead to relapse, which can have significant psychosocial and biological consequences for patients.<br /><br />Dr. Freudenreich suggests that assessing adherence involves evaluating a patient's drug attitude, which is their subjective assessment of the risk and benefit of medication. He also recommends considering barriers to adherence, such as administrative obstacles, environmental factors, and side effects. To assess compliance behavior, he suggests using self-report measures, collateral information from family or other caregivers, and objective measures such as pill counts and pharmacy records.<br /><br />Dr. Freudenreich also discusses various interventions to enhance adherence. These include patient-centered strategies such as prescribing the most effective and tolerable medication, simplifying treatment regimens, and considering long-acting injectables for patients who struggle with daily medication adherence. He also mentions environment-centered strategies, such as using pillboxes and automatic refills, and treatment-centered strategies, such as using therapeutic drug monitoring and digital medicine systems.<br /><br />Overall, Dr. Freudenreich stresses the importance of individualizing treatment plans and working collaboratively with patients to improve adherence. He concludes by quoting Winston Churchill, who reminds clinicians to periodically evaluate the results of their strategies to ensure their effectiveness.

Keywords

Dr. Oliver Freudenreich

adherence to antipsychotic medications

patients with schizophrenia

medication adherence

drug attitude

barriers to adherence

compliance behavior

interventions to enhance adherence

individualizing treatment plans