An economic review of compliance with medication therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE
The authors examined published economic evaluations of schizophrenia and antipsychotic therapies to determine the role of compliance with medication therapy in the economic cost of schizophrenia.


METHODS
The authors reviewed studies published from 1995 to 2002 that evaluated compliance with treatment for schizophrenia. Literature searches were conducted for that period by using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Current Contents. The primary search terms were "schizophrenia," "compliance," "relapse," and "economic costs."


CONCLUSIONS
A definitive relationship exists between compliance and the economic costs of schizophrenia. Lower rates of compliance lead to higher costs of treating schizophrenia. However, the full implications are difficult to surmise from the literature because of inadequacies in the reporting of compliance rates and outcomes of treatment over time. The authors suggest collection of data on longer-term clinical outcomes as a means to improve future economic evaluations of schizophrenia treatments.
Thieda
Patricia
P
RTI Health Solutions, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. pthieda@rti.org
Beard
Stephen
S
Richter
Anke
A
Kane
John
J
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*; D012646:Self Administration / Q000191:economics*; D016312:Treatment Refusal
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents