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. 2021 Mar;27 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):12-19.
doi: 10.1111/cns.13375.

Achieving better outcomes for schizophrenia patients in Hong Kong: Strategies for improving treatment adherence

William Ak-Lam Lo  1 , Daniel Ki-Yan Mak  2 , Michael Ming-Cheuk Wong  3 , Oi-Wah Chan  4 , Eileena Mo-Ching Chui  5 , Dicky Wai-Sau Chung  2 , Glendy Suk-Han Ip  1 , Ka-Shing Lau  6 , Che-Kin Lee  7 , Jolene Mui  8 , Ka-Lok Tam  2 , Samson Tse  5 , Kwong-Lui Wong  9 ; Hong Kong Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (HKAPR)
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Achieving better outcomes for schizophrenia patients in Hong Kong: Strategies for improving treatment adherence

William Ak-Lam Lo et al. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2021 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] CNS Neurosci Ther. 2021 Oct;27(10):1254. doi: 10.1111/cns.13721. Epub 2021 Aug 19. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2021. PMID: 34411429 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Recent research on second-generation long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI SGAs) has proven its effectiveness in minimizing medication nonadherence problem and reducing relapses. Administered by medical professionals, making quick detection of nonadherence possible, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) facilitate immediate intervention and recovery process, and thus are favored by psychiatrists. Despite a higher initial cost with LAIs, the subsequent schizophrenia-related health costs for hospitalizations and outpatients are greatly reduced. With reference to guidelines published by psychiatric associations around the globe, this article looks at scenarios in Hong Kong on the management of severe mentally ill patients with regard to the use of a host of psychosocial interventions as well as LAI SGAs as a preferable treatment. In particular, it examines the benefits of using LAI SGAs for Hong Kong patients who demonstrated high nonadherence treatment rates due to their social environment. It assesses the rationale behind the early usages of LAI SGAs, which help to provide better recovery outcomes for patients.

Keywords: Hong Kong; antipsychotic agents; paliperidone palmitate; patient compliance; schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Age distribution of onset of schizophrenia (first sign of mental disorder) for men and women. From Häfner et al, 1998 10
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Outcomes after treatment with LAI or oral antipsychotics. From Stevens et al, 2016 22
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Differences in mean hospitalization and outpatient costs. From Lin et al, 2013 61
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
The preferred pharmacological approach for psychiatrists in 13 Asia‐Pacific countries to address an adherence problem in their patients. Modified from Olivares et al, 2013. 4 APAC, Asia–Pacific; AU, Australia; CN, People's Republic of China; HK, Hong Kong; ID, Indonesia; IN, India; KR, Korea; MY, Malaysia; NZ, New Zealand; PH, Philippines; SG, Singapore; TH, Thailand; TW, Taiwan; VN, Vietnam
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