New Survey Shows Product Liability Litigation May Jeopardize Treatment Outcomes for People with Severe Mental Illnesses
June 13 2007 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Relapses Seen As Patients Abandon Treatment in Response to Negative
Law Firm Ads ROCKVILLE, Md., June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Survey results
released today shed light on a new barrier to treatment affecting
people with severe mental illness. The findings show fears raised
by product liability litigation involving antipsychotic drugs may
be putting patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at risk
for relapse. These fears add to the already heavy burden that
patients face as they work to manage symptoms, stay on their
medication and work with their treatment providers to improve their
mental and physical health. The survey, which was conducted among
402 psychiatrists who treat patients with schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder, showed that, even when patients were responding well to
their prescribed antipsychotic treatment, many requested a
medication change because these drugs are featured in law firm
advertisements. Other patients stopped taking their medication,
often without telling their psychiatrist, for the same reason.
"Many of our patients already struggle with accepting their illness
and staying on their prescribed treatment, and now they are
experiencing new levels of fear due to the increasing incidence of
these jarring advertisements," said Dr. Ralph Aquila, assistant
clinical professor of psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians
and Surgeons; director, residential community services, St
Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. "This irresponsible
advertising is hindering the progress of therapy for many of these
patients and disrupting the important relationship between them and
their healthcare providers. Plaintiffs attorneys need to consider
the consequences that these advertisements may have on patients."
The findings from this survey, which was commissioned by the
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and Eli Lilly
and Company, are consistent with a Harris Interactive(R) poll of
250 physicians commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in
2003(i) that examined how pharmaceutical litigation impacts
prescribing decisions across disease states. However, this new
survey went one step further by asking psychiatrists to examine the
potential impact of this type of litigation on patient care. These
new findings have implications for doctors who treat serious and
persistent mental illnesses, and confirm trends in clinical
practice that many people in the mental health community have
observed, but have not been quantified until now. Ninety-seven
percent of surveyed psychiatrists had one or more patients who
stopped taking medication or reduced their dosage. Of these
psychiatrists, 52 percent believed patients took this action due to
law firm advertisements about antipsychotic drugs, and reported the
following: -- Ninety-three percent stated that one or more of their
patients made medication changes without consulting them first, and
the majority of these psychiatrists (94 percent) reported patient
relapse as a result of discontinuing medication. -- The most
frequent consequences of relapse were symptom recurrence (93
percent), hospitalization (75 percent), loss of an important
relationship (40 percent) and suicide attempts (26 percent). Even
when patients were improving on their prescribed medication, they
still approached their psychiatrists about stopping or changing.
Ninety-seven percent of surveyed psychiatrists received one or more
patient requests to stop or switch their medication. Of these
psychiatrists, 59 percent felt patients made these requests based
on concerns raised by law firm advertisements about antipsychotic
drugs, and reported the following: -- The majority of these
psychiatrists (93 percent) felt these patients were responding to
treatment. -- Of the patients that were responding but requested a
stop or switch, 71 percent of psychiatrists reported that one or
more experienced a relapse, which also led to symptom recurrence,
hospitalization, loss of an important relationship and suicide
attempts. -- Half of the surveyed psychiatrists reported that
patient caregivers also requested a medication switch or stop due
to concerns generated by law firm advertisements, even if their
loved one was responding to treatment. "Doctors and patients need
to discuss the risks and benefits of any medication in order to
determine what is appropriate for each patient," said Linda
Rosenberg, MSW, president and CEO of the National Council. "That
assessment becomes difficult in today's atmosphere because so much
of the advertising is alarmist and frightening. It's especially
crucial for patients to speak with their doctor before stopping
their medication. Such discussions are an important part of the
therapeutic relationship." The findings from the survey are
especially pertinent given the number of barriers that already
exist in helping patients adhere to their treatment. Among the many
challenges psychiatrists noted they faced when selecting an
antipsychotic medication to treat schizophrenia and bipolar
disorder, the five most challenging issues identified were: -- Side
effects (75%), -- Lack of adherence due to unwillingness to accept
illness (73%), -- Medication costs (58%), -- Lack of adherence due
to lack of support (50%), and -- Co-occurring mental illnesses
(49%). More than half (55%) of surveyed psychiatrists indicated
that they had changed their prescribing practices over the last
five years due to product liability cases involving antipsychotic
medications - and reported frustration and concern that this type
of litigation sometimes interferes with patient treatment.
Furthermore, many psychiatrists (62%) reported that they know of
colleagues who have made similar changes in their prescribing
practices. Resources are available for clinicians who treat severe
mental illness through the National Council at
http://www.nccbh.org/ and Lilly at http://www.treatmentteam.com/.
Additional survey findings are also available on the National
Council's Web site. Survey Methodology This research was conducted
via a 20-minute online survey by WebSurveyResearch on behalf of
Ipsos Insight Health. The survey was conducted among 402
psychiatrists sampled from WebSurveyResearch's physician's panel.
All psychiatrists practice in the U.S. and treat patients with
bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia. Eighty percent of the
psychiatrists have been practicing for more than 10 years.
Interviews were conducted from March 5-12, 2007. With a pure
probability sample of 402 psychiatrists, one could say with a 95
percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error
of +/- five percentage points. However, that does not take other
sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a
probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can
be calculated. This survey was conducted by independent market
research company Ipsos- Insight and commissioned by the National
Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and Lilly. The survey
was funded by Lilly. About The National Council for Community
Behavioral Healthcare The National Council for Community Behavioral
Healthcare (http://www.nccbh.org/) is a not-for-profit association
of 1,300 behavioral healthcare organizations that provide treatment
and rehabilitation for mental illnesses and addiction disorders to
nearly six million adults, children, and families in communities
across the country. Serving as the national voice of the provider
community, the National Council advocates within all levels of
government to ensure that all adults, children, and their families
have access to quality behavioral healthcare. About Eli Lilly and
Company Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is
developing a growing portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class
pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its
own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent
scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.,
Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for
some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional
information about Lilly is available at http://www.lilly.com/.
P-LLY (i) Pendell, Judyth. "The Adverse Side Effects of
Pharmaceutical Litigation." AEI-Brookings Joint Center for
Regulatory Studies. September 2003. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/CLW005 ) (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO )
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070613/CLW005
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031219/LLYLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: The National Council for
Community Behavioral Healthcare CONTACT: Lea Ann Browning-McNee,
The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, +1-
301-984-6200, ext. 241, Mobile, +1-301-509-1846, ; Carole Puls, Eli
Lilly and Company, +1-317-277-1421, Mobile, +1-317-612-4859, Web
site: http://www.nccbh.org/ http://www.treatmentteam.com/
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