VIDEO: Getting first-episode psychosis treatment in the community setting ‘just right’

TORONTO – Because cardiometabolic syndrome is a primary concern in first-episode psychosis on the schizophrenia spectrum, one study explored whether prescriber education alone was enough to help ensure the correct antipsychotic medication was prescribed in the community setting.

“Prescribers are aware of the cardiometabolic effects of antipsychotics, but in the heat of the moment, it might not be in the forefront of their minds,” says study coauthor Dr. Mary F. Brunette, medical director of the Bureau of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in Concord, N.H., in this video interview. By measuring whether an educational intervention changed prescriber habits, Dr. Brunette, who presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, and her colleagues determined that there were some improvements, particularly in polypharmacy. The study also showed that although gender, age, and insurance status did influence a prescriber’s choice of antipsychotics, actual diagnosis had limited and inconsistent effects.

[email protected]

On Twitter @whitneymcknight

TORONTO – Because cardiometabolic syndrome is a primary concern in first-episode psychosis on the schizophrenia spectrum, one study explored whether prescriber education alone was enough to help ensure the correct antipsychotic medication was prescribed in the community setting.

“Prescribers are aware of the cardiometabolic effects of antipsychotics, but in the heat of the moment, it might not be in the forefront of their minds,” says study coauthor Dr. Mary F. Brunette, medical director of the Bureau of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in Concord, N.H., in this video interview. By measuring whether an educational intervention changed prescriber habits, Dr. Brunette, who presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, and her colleagues determined that there were some improvements, particularly in polypharmacy. The study also showed that although gender, age, and insurance status did influence a prescriber’s choice of antipsychotics, actual diagnosis had limited and inconsistent effects.

[email protected]

On Twitter @whitneymcknight

TORONTO – Because cardiometabolic syndrome is a primary concern in first-episode psychosis on the schizophrenia spectrum, one study explored whether prescriber education alone was enough to help ensure the correct antipsychotic medication was prescribed in the community setting.

“Prescribers are aware of the cardiometabolic effects of antipsychotics, but in the heat of the moment, it might not be in the forefront of their minds,” says study coauthor Dr. Mary F. Brunette, medical director of the Bureau of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health and Human Services in Concord, N.H., in this video interview. By measuring whether an educational intervention changed prescriber habits, Dr. Brunette, who presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, and her colleagues determined that there were some improvements, particularly in polypharmacy. The study also showed that although gender, age, and insurance status did influence a prescriber’s choice of antipsychotics, actual diagnosis had limited and inconsistent effects.

[email protected]

On Twitter @whitneymcknight