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Treatment compliance in schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

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There is a myth that people with mental disorders comply poorly with treatment. In fact, psychiatric patients are no more likely than patients in other medical specialities to go against the advice of their doctor. However, it is easy to find instances where psychotropic medication is refused by the supposed beneficiary. The value of neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenia is now widely accepted, and failure to take such treatment is associated with relapse. Relapse may endanger the patient and other people. Despite this, people with schizophrenia frequently fail to take their treatment. One-third of patients leaving a general adult psychiatry ward can be expected to be non-compliant within two years (Buchanan, 1992).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998 

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