Impact of a clinical-administrative review procedure on reducing reliance on psychotropic PRN medication

Abstract

The author reviews and evaluates the impact of a clinical/administrative review procedure, previously demonstrated as useful for reducing seclusion/restraint reliance, on psychotropic PRN reliance within a public psychiatric hospital (average census=310; 215 with a stay of greater than 30 days). After 20 weeks of baseline, the impact of the review procedure on PRN reliance was evaluated over an additional 52 weeks. This review procedure reduced the number of individuals who exceeded a review threshold from 20.8 per week prior to initiation to 12.4 per week after initiation, a reduction of 40%. The results underscore the importance of clinical/administrative behavior for encouraging alternatives to psychotropic PRN reliance in behavior management.