Pharmacoeconomics of schizophrenia in the 21st century.

During the next century-if not before-a variety of issues associated with mental health care in the United States need to be addressed and resolved nationwide, including securing full parity for patients with psychiatric disorders, improving the overall medical health of psychiatric patients, establishing the effectiveness as well as the efficacy of new drugs and educating health care providers about new drugs and new uses for older drugs, and using all costs to evaluate new therapeutic strategies or medications. The following discussion covers some of the major findings from studies conducted in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, touches on some of the areas mentioned above, and is intended to serve as a springboard for exchanges among professionals in the health care community who care for psychiatric patients.