Educating Patients on Long Acting Injectable Antipsychotics to Improve Medication Adherence

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to provide education forsimulated patients at the Telehealth Learning Center (TLC) with psychotic disorders on the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs). Background: Despite the critical importance of medication in managing psychotic disorders, nonadherence with routine medication regimes continues to be a major issue in mental healthcare. Due to its negative impact on patients and the healthcare system, this problem has created the need for a method of administering medication that requires less maintenance. Alternative treatment options such as long-acting injectable antipsychotics can increase medication adherence but are infrequently discussed with patient taking oral antipsychotics. Methods: Standardized patients were recruited for this quality improvement project by the TLC coordinators using informational flyers. The project intervention was a 30-minute educational Zoom presentation. Participants were asked to complete a pre- and posttest to determine if the intervention increased patient knowledge about the use of LAIAs to manage psychotic symptoms. Results: There were 10 total participants; each participant completed the pre- and posttest and reported that the intervention was informative. The pre- and posttest findings indicate education regarding LAIAs increased participant willingness to utilize this treatment modality. Conclusions: Educational presentations provide an opportunity to improve patient knowledge. The educational presentation in this quality improvement project increased participant knowledge and acceptance of LAIAs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a major limitation in this study is the use of standardized patients in a virtual clinic versus an in-person presentation with patients diagnosed with a serious mental illness. It is unknown if any of the standardized patients had psychotic disorders themselves; however, they offered valuable feedback about the effectiveness and feasibility of the project intervention.