Audit on Prescribing Practice of Depot Antipsychotic Injections in the Adult Community Mental Health Service

Abstract

Introduction

There are a number of good standard practices available for prescribing long acting antipsychotics. Adherence to these guidelines will minimise any harm to the service users.

Aims

To compare depot antipsychotic prescribing practice with good standard practice guidelines of BNF, Trust and Maudsley guidelines.

Objectives

To compare practice with standards in the areas of:

– licensed indication;

– dose/frequency range;

– avoiding poly-pharmacy;

– regular review of clinical and side effects.

Methods

Case notes of a randomly selected sample of 30 patients from the depot clinic at the City East Adult Community Mental Health Team Leicester, UK were retrospectively investigated. The data collected was analysed and the results were produced. Compliance with the best practice guidelines was calculated and recommendations made based on the findings.

Results

One hundred percent compliance was noticed in licensed indications and dose/frequency within BNF range. However, 14% patients received poly-pharmacotherapy, 86% had regular outpatient review, but only 46% had review of side effects.

Conclusions

Better quality of documentations by the clinicians, improvised technology to elicit automatic review reminders, introduction of checklist for clinics to include review of all clinically important information, wider dissemination of the findings of this investigation, and re-auditing practice to explore impact of this investigation was recommended.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.