Introducing S.C.O.P.E.™ (Schizophrenia Clinical Outcome Scenarios and Patient–Provider Engagement), an Interactive Digital Platform to Educate Healthcare Professionals on Schizophrenia Care

Abstract

Christoph U Correll,1– 4,* Jose M Rubio,1– 3,* Leslie Citrome,5,* Marko A Mychaskiw,6 Stephen Thompson,6 Kelli R Franzenburg,7 Mark Suett,8 Sameer Kotak,9 John M Kane1– 3,* 1Department of Psychiatry, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, Glen Oaks, NY, USA; 2Department of Psychiatry, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA; 3Institute of Behavioral Science, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA; 4Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 5Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA; 6Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA; 7Global Medical Affairs, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA; 8Global Medical Affairs, Teva UK Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom; 9Yorker Health Corp., Glen Rock, NJ, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Christoph U Correll, Email [email protected]: Despite evidence of benefits beyond those of oral antipsychotics, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are underused in schizophrenia treatment. Underuse may be partially a result of misconceptions held by some healthcare professionals (HCPs) pertaining to LAIs. A panel of four experts convened between January 2022 and May 2022 to identify these misconceptions, and example cases or scenarios were created to illustrate common clinical situations relevant to these beliefs. Ultimately, an online platform and heuristic tool, Schizophrenia Clinical Outcome Scenarios and Patient-Provider Engagement (S.C.O.P.E.™), was developed to help prescribing clinicians and other HCPs better understand common clinical dilemmas, as well as the place for LAIs in schizophrenia treatment. Three main misconceptions related to the use of LAIs to treat schizophrenia were identified and included “physicians/providers know when patients are nonadherent”, “patients do not accept/want LAI treatment”, and “LAIs are only appropriate for patients who have demonstrated nonadherence”. All misconceptions are refuted by current evidence and were used to develop clinical scenarios with questions to consider when patients present to various sites of care for treatment. These cases are presented on the S.C.O.P.E. educational platform. The platform also includes videos designed to help non-prescribing HCPs and mental health professionals address patient/caregiver concerns and to communicate LAI benefits. In addition, S.C.O.P.E. provides a section with information about each LAI that is currently FDA approved in the United States for the treatment of schizophrenia, to help familiarize HCPs with characteristics of LAIs. S.C.O.P.E. is an educational tool designed for HCPs to help improve their understanding of how to manage common clinical dilemmas in the treatment of people with schizophrenia, to clarify the role of LAIs in medication management, and to increase understanding of the characteristics of available LAIs. S.C.O.P.E. also aims to improve care in schizophrenia by facilitating increased awareness to patients and caregivers.Plain Language Summary: Schizophrenia is a serious, lifelong mental health disorder that affects about 2.8 million adults in the United States and many more worldwide. Symptoms can include hallucinations (ie, hearing “voices”), delusions (ie, convinced something is true when it is not), poor attention, lack of motivation and interest, and cognitive problems. Schizophrenia can have considerable impact on people with the disorder as well as their families, friends, and communities. There are several treatment options available for healthcare professionals (HCPs), patients, and caregivers to consider, with antipsychotic medicines being the cornerstone of the treatment for schizophrenia. Long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) have shown benefits over antipsychotics taken orally (by mouth), but are underused, and this is likely due to some common misconceptions.Four experts in schizophrenia treatment met repeatedly online to identify some of these misconceptions and created a tool to help HCPs learn about misconceptions, using example cases of patients with schizophrenia who have different types of clinical situations and concerns. On the Schizophrenia Clinical Outcome Scenarios and Patient-Provider Engagement (S.C.O.P.E.™) interactive digital platform, HCPs can choose in which type of case they are interested in and see details of the case, information they should obtain about the case, and appropriate considerations for LAI use. The tool also provides videos about communicating with patients and their families about LAIs, and information about the different LAIs currently available.The goal of providing this tool to HCPs is to improve understanding of how to treat patients with schizophrenia and the role that LAIs can play.Keywords: long-acting injectable antipsychotic, schizophrenia, treatment, education, patient outcomes

Keywords

• long-acting injectable antipsychotic
• schizophrenia
• treatment
• education
• patient outcomes