A Medicaid and commercial insured claims-based study to estimate improved antipsychotic medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia.

Compliance with antipsychotic medication is clinically important but challenging for schizophrenia patients. Clinical trials and epidemiological studies strongly suggest that improved compliance results in reduced hospitalizations and other adverse outcomes. Examination of Medicaid and commercial claim data suggests that a significant portion of schizophrenia patients have a regular pattern of visits with one outpatient professional, yet are noncompliant with their medication. For many of these patients, results show that the administration of once-monthly verifiable therapy would improve compliance.