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Impact of feedback from pharmacists in reducing antipsychotic polypharmacy in schizophrenia
Author(s) -
Hazra Monica,
Uchida Hiroyuki,
Sproule Beth,
Remington Gary,
Suzuki Takefumi,
Mamo David C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2011.02280.x
Subject(s) - polypharmacy , antipsychotic , medical prescription , medicine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychological intervention , psychiatry , pharmacology
The objective was to examine effects of active interventions on physician's prescribing of antipsychotic polypharmacy. Prescriptions for patients with schizophrenia at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada were collected in 2006 ( n = 648) and 2008 ( n = 778). During the intervening period, a pharmacist monitored prescriptions with antipsychotic polypharmacy and contacted corresponding prescribers to provide education on risks of polypharmacy. Moreover, educational sessions on polypharmacy were presented to inpatient and outpatient teams. A three‐fold decrease in the prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy was observed between 2006 (18.3%) and 2008 (6.6%). Thus, active monitoring of prescriptions with educational interventions could reduce antipsychotic polypharmacy.