SCHIZOPHRENIA DRUG NONCOMPLIANCE MAY LEAD TO ONE-THIRD OF HOSPITAL COSTS

Executive Summary

SCHIZOPHRENIA DRUG NONCOMPLIANCE MAY LEAD TO ONE-THIRD OF HOSPITAL COSTS during short stays associated with the disease, Peter Weiden, MD, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, suggested Nov. 7 at an American Medical Association Science Reporters Conference in Seattle. Weiden and Mark Olsson, MD, Columbia University, looked at the effect on readmission rates of drug discontinuation after discharge and found that relapse rates among schizophrenics following hospitalization increased from 3.5% to 12% per month after patients stopped their medication.