Schizophrenia explained
Schizophrenia is a common mental health problem, but many sufferers have sub-optimal outcomes from treatment. By combining an understanding of how the condition and treatment can impact on an individual with being highly accessible, community pharmacy teams can promote treatment adherence through brief contacts and medicines optimisation reviews. One in every 100 people will suffer from psychosis and schizophrenia at some point in their lifetime. Worldwide, it is the most commonly diagnosed major mental health problem and it is listed among the top 10 medical disorders causing disability. Note: people affected by schizophrenia prefer to be described as 'service users' or as 'people with schizophrenia' rather than as 'patients' or 'schizophrenics'.
Updated NICE guidance
The updated 2014 NICE guidance lists a number of recommendations for the treatment and management of psychosis and schizophrenia. The key aims relating to medication and physical health are:
- Oral antipsychotic medication should be offered in conjunction with psychological interventions
- The choice of antipsychotic should be made by the individual and healthcare professional together
- The physical health of people with psychosis or schizophrenia should be monitored prior to starting an antipsychotic, when care is transferred to primary care and then at least annually
- A combined healthy eating and physical activity programme, and support to stop smoking should be offered. If there is rapid or excessive weight gain, abnormal lipid levels or problems with blood glucose management, interventions should be offered in line with other NICE guidance.