Patient and facility characteristics associated with benzodiazepine prescribing for veterans with PTSD
Source: Psychiatric Services
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Objective: Practice guidelines used in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) caution against benzodiazepine use by veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of inefficacy and safety concerns. Although use has declined, the VHA prescription rate is 30% or higher nationally. To inform intervention design, this study examined patient- and facility-level correlates of benzodiazepine prescribing.
Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2009 national administrative US VHA data to identify veterans with ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - February 11, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Medication use in US youth with mental disorders
Source: JAMA Pediatrics
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence, demographic and clinical correlates, and specificity of classes of psychotropic medications indicated for mental disorders.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Direct household interviews of combined household and school samples representative of the general population of adolescents in the United States.
Participants: 10,123 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years who participated in the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement.
Main Exposures: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of M...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - February 8, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
New draft guidance issued by FDA on developing drugs for Alzheimer's disease
Source: FDA
Area: News
The FDA has issued draft guidance designed to assist manufacturing companies developing new treatments for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, before the onset of noticeable dementia.
The draft guidance titled, "Guidance for Industry, Alzheimer's Disease: Developing Drugs for the Treatment of Early Stage Disease," explains the FDA's current thinking about the way researchers can identify and select patients with early Alzheimer's disease, or those who are at risk of developing the disease, for participation in clinical trials. (Source: NeLM - Mental Health)
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - February 8, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Improving treatment adherence in your patients with schizophrenia
Source: Clinical Drug Investigation
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Partial and non-adherence to medication is a common problem in schizophrenia, leading to an increased risk of relapse, increased likelihood of hospitalisation and poorer long-term outcomes. In contrast, continuous medication in the treatment of schizophrenia is associated with positive outcomes, including improved clinical status, improved quality of life and functioning, and reduced risk of relapse and rehospitalisation. Strategies aimed at improving medication adherence are therefore important for patients to ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - February 7, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Psychiatrists' awareness of adherence to antipsychotic medication in patients with schizophrenia: results from a survey conducted across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
Source: Patient Preference and Adherence
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Background: Nonadherence is common among patients with schizophrenia, although the rates vary according to means of assessment and patient population. Failure to adhere to medication can have a major impact on the course of illness and treatment outcomes, including increasing the risk of relapse and rehospitalisation. Understanding psychiatrists' perception of the causes and consequences of nonadherence is crucial to addressing adherence problems effectively.
Methods: The Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EM...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - February 1, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
CQC report: Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2011/12
This report focused on dignity, involvement, care and the recovery of people who are subject to the Act and found that 15% of people receiving care under the Act are not being involved in the decisions made about their care. (Source: NeLM - Mental Health)
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 31, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
E-mental health report
This report evaluates how the mental health sector might make the most of opportunities offered by e-mental health, that is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to support and improve mental health, including the use of online resources, social media and smartphone applications.
The report gives examples of how service users, mental health providers and other organisations are already embracing e-mental health to bring about change. (Source: NeLM - Mental Health)
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 30, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Pharmacovigilance study confirms modest QT interval prolongation with antidepressant use
Source: BMJ
Area: News
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning in 2011 that citalopram had been associated with QT prolongation, based on post-marketing surveillance and a small crossover study. However no studies have explored this risk in general clinical populations, or its specificity for citalopram.
This US cross sectional study explored the relationship between citalopram and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on corrected QT interval (QTc), a marker of risk for ventricular arrhythmia, in a large and diverse clinical population.
A total of 38,397 adult patients with an ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 30, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
BMJ debate: Are antidepressants overprescribed?
Source: BMJ
Area: News
These 'head to head' articles in the British Medical Journal discuss whether antidepressants are overprescribed. The author of the 'yes' argument is a GP, who believes that the rising prescription rates for antidepressants reflect overmedicalisation. The author of the 'no' article, a professor of psychiatry, argues that prescribing is cautious and appropriate. (Source: NeLM - Mental Health)
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Payment by Results (PbR) in mental health. What is required for 2013-14
Source: Department of Health (DH)
Area: News
A letter from David Flory outlines what is required to implement PbR for adult mental health services. The letter includes mandating the rebasing of current contracts on the basis of the clusters, and mandating the use of some quality and outcome measures. There is also emphasis on the need to improve the quality and completeness of the clinical data that flows to the Mental Health Minimum Dataset, and the accuracy of costing the services that are being provided. (Source: NeLM - Mental Health)
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 28, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Predictors and impact of non-adherence in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder receiving OROS methylphenidate: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Source: BMC Psychiatry
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Background: Medication non-adherence has an important impact on treatment efficacy and healthcare burden across a range of conditions and therapeutic areas. The aim of this analysis was to determine predictors of non-adherence and impact of non-adherence on treatment response in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: Post-hoc analysis of a 13-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of OROS methylphenidate (MPH) 54 and 72 mg/day at 42 sites in 11 European countries including th...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 25, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Trends in office-based treatment of adults with stimulants in the United States
Source: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Objective: The authors investigated trends and patterns in stimulant treatment of adults visiting office-based medical practices in the United States.
Method: A time series analysis of data from the 1994 to 2009 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (no of visits = 372,702) was performed, focusing on adult (aged 18 years or older) visits in which stimulant medications (amphetamine salts, methylphenidate or pemoline) were prescribed. The authors computed trends in the percentage of visits in which a stimulant w...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 25, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Suboptimal treatment adherence in bipolar disorder: impact on clinical outcomes and functioning
Source: Patient Preference and Adherence
Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References
Background: The primary aim of this study was to assess drug treatment adherence in patients with bipolar disorder and to identify factors associated with adherence. The secondary aim was to analyse the impact of suboptimal adherence on clinical and functional outcomes.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of outpatients receiving an oral antipsychotic drug. Medication adherence was assessed combining the 10-item Drug Attitude Inventory, the Morisky Green Adherence Questionnaire, and the ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
CHMP recommends approval of generic memantine product (Maruxa®)
Source: European Medicines Agency
Area: News
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for Maruxa®, intended for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. Maruxa® is a generic of Ebixa®, which has been authorised in the EU since 15 May 2002.
Detailed recommendations for the use of this product will be described in the summary of product characteristics (SmPC), which will be published in the European public assessment report (EPAR), and will be available after the marketing authorisation has been granted ...
Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
Early interventions to prevent psychosis: systematic review and meta-analysis
Source: BMJ
Area: News
According to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis, psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may help to delay or prevent psychosis in high-risk individuals.
The authors note that the incidence of probable psychosis is around 5 per 1000 adults in the UK. Schizophrenia, the most common form of psychosis and one of the leading causes of long-term disability, is usually preceded by a prodromal period. Interventions that delay or prevent transition to psychosis from this prodromal syndrome could be clinically and economically important.
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Source: NeLM - Mental Health - January 21, 2013 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: news
