Antipsychotic Reduction and Discontinuation (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologist, Counselors, LMFTs, and Nurses

Course By: Tracey Thomas, PsyD

Content By: Cooper, R.E., Hanratty, E., Morant, N., Moncrieff, J. (2019). Mental health professionals’ views and experiences of antipsychotic reduction and discontinuation.  PLoS One, 14(6), e0218711.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218711

Course Description: Despite adverse side effects, antipsychotic medication is often the treatment of choice for psychosis. Currently, a professional guideline to stop or reduce antipsychotic medications does not exist.  In the presented study, researchers formed seven focus groups to discuss their views, experiences, and processes to reduce and discontinue antipsychotic medications. The participants in the study acknowledged the adverse effects and supported reducing the antipsychotics to the lowest threshold, although they disagreed on discontinuing the medications. The participants also identified challenges of medication management within the organization. The study benefits skilled professionals working with patients diagnosed with psychosis as it will enable them to understand the challenges of medication management. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Compare and contrast the views on medication management from the psychiatrist. mental health nurses, and social workers view   
2. Identify three key findings and evaluate these findings alongside the researcher’s discussion of the findings.
3. Identify two limitations of the current study and consider the implications of these limitations in the context of future research in this area.

Course Outline:

1. Read and understand the article, Mental health professionals’ views and experiences of antipsychotic reduction and discontinuation
2. Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
3. Work through the post-test questions; the answers to the questions should be derived from the respective article
4. Review the article for further clarification, if needed
5. Return to the article for clarification regarding antipsychotic medication management, or for any missed questions

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics; i.e. gender and/or race. A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017). Continued research in health care settings, combined with greater method homogeneity, should be employed to examine the occurrence and prevalence of implicit biases in healthcare settings as a strategic approach for mitigating related disparities (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Reference

FitzGerald, C., Hurst, S. (2017). Implicit bias in healthcare professionals: a systematic review. BMC Med Ethics 18, 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-017-0179-8