Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Sep 2022)
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Prescribing of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics for Schizophrenia: Results from a United States Prescriber Survey
Abstract
Maryia Zhdanava,1 H Lynn Starr,2 Todor I Totev,3 Patrick Lefebvre,1 Aditi Shah,1 Kristy Sheng,4 Dominic Pilon1 1Analysis Group, Inc., Montréal, QC, Canada; 2Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Titusville, NJ, USA; 3Analysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA, USA; 4Analysis Group, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USACorrespondence: Maryia Zhdanava, Manager at Analysis Group, Inc, 1190 Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal, Suite, 1500, Montréal, QC, H3B 0G7, Canada, Tel +1 514-394-4469, Email [email protected]: To describe changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the prescribing of long-acting antipsychotics (LAI) for schizophrenia, patient outcomes, and patient and healthcare provider (HCP) attitudes regarding COVID-19 vaccination in the United States (US).Methods: An anonymous online survey was administered to US-based LAI prescribers with a psychiatry specialty in May 2021. Information on prescriber and clinical practice characteristics, LAI prescribing, patient outcomes, and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination was collected and described.Results: Of the 401 LAI prescribers meeting survey criteria, 64.6% reported that LAI prescribing remained unchanged (increase: 19.2%, decrease: 14.0%). The majority did not switch patients from LAIs to oral antipsychotics (OAP; 63.3%) or to LAI formulations with lower frequency of administration (68.1%); most prescribers switched the same number of patients from OAPs to LAIs during the pandemic as in previous practice (65.1%). Half of LAI prescribers (50.1%) reported antipsychotic adherence as unchanged among most patients; 44.6% reported symptom control/relapse frequency as unchanged. Most prescribers believed their patients with schizophrenia should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination (74.1%) and encouraged all patients to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine (84.0%). However, 64.1% of prescribers reported hesitancy among some patients about vaccines’ safety; 51.4% reported that some patients were willing to be vaccinated despite the hesitancy, 48.6% indicated that some patients perceived COVID-19 vaccines as safe, effective, and important.Conclusion: LAI prescribing and prescriber-reported antipsychotic adherence in patients with schizophrenia remained largely unchanged approximately one year after the start of COVID-19. Focused efforts to overcome patients’ COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are warranted.Keywords: adherence, antipsychotics, COVID-19, physician survey, prescribing habits, schizophrenia
