What are available practice guidelines for schizophrenia and early course psychosis?

There are numerous practice guidelines available for schizophrenia and early course psychosis. While no practice guidelines are a substitute for your clinical judgement and decision making, they can offer useful information and serve as a good reference. For example, these guidelines can offer useful information about managing patients with schizophrenia prodrome, early course schizophrenia, and longer standing illness. Many offer treatment pathways around medication usage, such as when to use clozapine, as well as psychosocial interventions and the role of peer support. Most guidelines take up to a year to draft, and many are not updated for many years after release, so are not able to reflect the most current evidence. SMI Adviser has assembled a collection of current guidelines you can access. We do not endorse any but offer a variety each with a slightly different focus. They include ones from a commercial insure, a review of those from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), two from the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) and two from Canada.

U.S. Guidelines

• Introduction to Magellan’s Adopted Clinical Practice Guidelines For the Treatment of Schizophrenia (Magellan Healthcare, published 2017)
• The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia, Third Edition (APA, published  2020)
• The 2009 Schizophrenia PORT Psychosocial Treatment Recommendations and Summary Statements (Schizophrenia Bulletin, published 2009)
• The 2009 Schizophrenia PORT Psychopharmacological Treatment Recommendations and Summary Statements (Schizophrenia Bulletin, published 2009)

International Guidelines

• Psychosis and schizophrenia in adults: prevention and management (NICE, published 2014)
• Implementing the Early Intervention in Psychosis Access and Waiting Time Standard: Guidance (NHS England, the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health
  and the NICE, published 2014)
• Sign 131 Management of schizophrenia – A national clinical guideline (Healthcare Improvement Scotland, published 2013)
• Canadian Guidelines for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, published 2017)
• Canadian Practice Guidelines for Comprehensive Community Treatment for Schizophrenia and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, published 2017)
• Canadian Treatment Guidelines for Individuals at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, published 2017)
• Guidelines for the Pharmacotherapy of Schizophrenia in Adults (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, published 2017)
• Standards and Guidelines for Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Programs (Ministry of Health Services Province of British Columbia, published 2010) See more from the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services.