Antipsychotic prescribing patterns in the texas prison system

Although prison inmates are reported to exhibit elevated rates of psychotic disorders, little is known about antipsychotic pharmacotherapy in correcti onal settings. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe antipsyc hotic prescribing patterns in one of the nation's largest prison systems. T he study population consisted of 3,750 Texas Department of Criminal justice (TDCJ) inmates diagnosed with schizophrenic disorders, nonschizophrenic ps ychotic disorders, or both. In 1998, among inmates diagnosed with schizophr enic disorders, 14.6 percent were prescribed atypical antipsychotic agents, and 85.4 percent were prescribed typical antipsychotic agents. Among inmat es diagnosed with nonschizophrenic psychotic disorders, 89.3 percent were p rescribed typical antipsychotic agents, while 10.7 percent were prescribed atypical antipsychotic agents. Black males and females were prescribed atyp ical antipsychotic agents less frequently than their counterparts. Understa nding such prescribing patterns is integral to the efficient and cost-effec tive planning of correctional mental health care.