Schizophrenia Survey Cites Need for New Treatment Options, Patient Compliance

Ninety five percent of psychiatrist surveyed as part of a national survey exploring current practices in the treatment of schizophrenia believe there is a need for new, highly effective medication options for treating schizophrenia. The survey further demonstrated that 55% of psychiatrists surveyed changed their patients' medication regimens more than once in the past 12 months, citing lack of efficacy as the primary reason for the change.

"Since previous research has demonstrated a general clinical consensus that medications which may work well for one patient may not work well for another, these survey findings reinforce the need for patients with schizophrenia to have access to enough appropriate options to address their specific clinical needs," said Peter Buckley, MD, chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior.

The majority of psychiatrists rated overall effectiveness (60%) as the most important criterion when choosing a new schizophrenia medication for their patients, followed by safety, tolerability and side effects (49%) and the elimination of delusions, hallucinations, suspiciousness, and excitability (31%). However, medication-related side effects were also of great concern. Yet, 72% of psychiatrists reported willingness to trade off some safety/tolerability in pursuit of efficacy when deciding on a medication option.

Psychiatrists perceived noncompliance to be widespread among patients with schizophrenia, with as many as 79% reporting that their patients forget to take their medication at least occasionally. Nearly all psychiatrists felt this lack of compliance negatively impacts medication effectiveness (93%), but practitioners (73%) are optimistic they play the most influential role in the success of treatment, along with caregivers (73%).

"Psychiatrists overwhelmingly report that their patient's lack of compliance negatively impacts the effectiveness of their medication," Dr. Buckley said. "However, schizophrenia can be treated successfully with the right treatment regimen and encouragement from practitioners, counselors, family, and friends to hopefully reverse this noncompliance trend."

Janssen, L. P. released these findings and Harris Interactive conducted the survey. The goal of the survey was to quantitatively measure the opinion of psychiatrists about the need for additional therapeutic options in the treatment of schizophrenia by understanding current prescribing and treatment options, decision-making practices, and level of patient compliance. In this study, 405 psychiatrists recruited from the American Medical Association master file participated in online interviews conducted between August 28, 2006 and September 9, 2006. Respondents represented primary practice locations including inpatient or outpatient facilities, private practice or office-based settings, or other facilities where medical attention is provided including prisons, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and/or emergency rooms. All respondents were required to treat 10 or more patients per month who suffer from schizophrenia.A complete methodology and additional details about the study design are available by request.