Barriers to, and strategies for, starting a long acting injection clinic in a community mental health center.
As many as 50% of patients with schizophrenia do not take oral antipsychotic medications as prescribed, yet long acting injections are rarely utilized. Community agencies that serve this population are often over-burdened and poorly funded. There are negative attitudes on the part of both physicians and consumers about injections. Transportation and logistics are often problematic. We describe the unique opportunity provided by the need for bi-weekly or monthly injections to establish a recovery-oriented group around injection visits. Our approach discusses methods and resources to help overcome some of the common barriers by establishing advocates within the agency, establishing necessary infrastructure, providing education for consumers, providers, and staff, sharing information about successful outcomes with clinic staff and working through billing issues. We also recommend public advocacy on the part of the clinic and consumers to work with state funding sources to change regulations that may limit appropriate clinical care.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, 7300 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. velligand@uthscsa.edu
Dawn I
DI
Velligan
Elisa
E
Medellin
Meredith
M
Draper
Natalie
N
Maples
Albana
A
Dassori
Troy A
TA
Moore
Linda
L
Lopez
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D055118:Medication Adherence; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations
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