Wh. Reid et al., CLOZAPINE USE BY STATE PROGRAMS - PUBLIC MENTAL-HEALTH SYSTEMS RESPOND TO A NEW MEDICATION, Hospital & community psychiatry, 44(8), 1993, pp. 739-743
The authors present data from a national survey of state departments o
f mental health showing that two years after reaching the U.S. market,
clozapine is available to only a small fraction of the patients whom
it might benefit. The primary continuing hurdle for the public sector,
where most schizophrenic patients get their care, is funding. Several
arguments support the use of clozapine in state mental health systems
: it is the most effective or only effective medication for many patie
nts, it can decrease the enormous costs of schizophrenia and related d
isorders, and access to the medication has become an important issue f
or advocacy groups and other mental health activists. Two years of exp
erience with clozapine in the Texas mental health system have shown th
at availability of clozapine in the community is a vital factor for su
ccessful use of the drug in hospitals, The authors discuss ways to enc
ourage outpatient clozapine programs that are critical to successful t
reatment in both the hospital and the community.