title: Best practices: disseminating best practices for bipolar disorder treatment in a correctional population.
abstract: Use of medication treatment algorithms may facilitate clinical decision making, improve consistency, and reduce polypharmacy in the correctional setting. A feasibility study was conducted investigating use of Texas Implementation of Medication Algorithms (TIMA) guidelines for bipolar disorder in the Connecticut Department of Correction. Forty inmates with diagnoses of bipolar disorder were treated over a 12-week period adhering to the TIMA algorithm for bipolar disorder. Significant improvement was seen in the primary and secondary outcome measures (p<.001). This pilot project confirmed the feasibility of algorithm adaptation to the correctional setting and provided specific recommendations for successful dissemination of the TIMA algorithm for bipolar disorder in correctional settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06030, USA. jkamath@uchc.edu
authors.forename: Jayesh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kamath
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Temporini
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quarti
authors.forename: Wanli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kesten
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wakai
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trestman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003237:Connecticut; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019338:Polypharmacy; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration