State Initiative Lowers Antipsychotic Polypharmacy

The New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) successfully lowered the amount of antipsychotic polypharmacy in NYSOMH psychiatric hospitals using a series of interventions that included a Web-based quality improvement application. The effort is described in the study “Best Practices: Long-Term Impact of Web-Based Tools, Leadership Feedback, and Policies on Inpatient Antipsychotic Polypharmacy”  in the October Journal of Psychiatric Services. For coverage of the study, see the next edition of Psychiatric News. And for further coverage of the issue of polypharmacy, see http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/41/6/31.full.

(Image: ajt/shutterstock.com)