Poor adherence to antipsychotics is a critical prognostic factor for patients with schizophrenia. Good illness insight, while helpful, is neither necessary nor sufficient for good antipsychotic adherence. Psychiatrists need to competently estimate the degree of adherence in order to devise appropriate interventions. A good adherence assessment inquires about attitude (towards drugs), barriers, and (actual) compliance behavior. “Drug attitude” can be viewed as a final common pathway that sums up a patient’s subjective risk-benefit assessment of a medication; it includes medication efficacy, particularly its ability to reduce perceived suffering. Adherence is unlikely if drug attitude is not good. Clinical adherence-enhancing interventions can be grouped into universal (for all patients), selected (for patients at high risk for non-adherence) or indicated interventions (for currently non-adherent patients). Among the various interventions, long-acting injectable antipsychotics are an underused first-line treatment for schizophrenia patients who require maintenance treatment.

This webinar will emphasize how to comprehensively assess adherence using the ABCs of adherence (i.e., drug attitude, barriers, and compliance behavior) and how to optimize adherence based on the reasons for non-adherence. The appropriate use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics will be highlighted.

Register at SMIadviser.org/adherence