Medical and social costs after using financial incentives to improve medication adherence: results of a 1 year randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Offering a financial incentive ('Money for Medication') is effective in improving adherence to treatment with depot antipsychotic medications. We investigated the cost-effectiveness in terms of medical costs and judicial expenses of using financial incentives to improve adherence. The effects of financial incentives on depot medication adherence were evaluated in a randomised controlled trial. Patients in the intervention group received €30 a month over 12 months if antipsychotic depot medication was accepted. The control group received mental health care as usual. For 133 patients outcomes were calculated based on self-reported service use and delinquent behaviour and expressed as standard unit costs to value resource use. RESULTS: The financial incentive resulted in higher average costs related to mental health care (€449.6 versus €355.7). and lower medical costs related to other healthcare services (€52.0 versus €78.4). Relevant differences in social costs related to delinquent behaviour were not found. Although wide confidence intervals indicate uncertainty, incremental cost-effectiveness ratio's (ICER) indicate that it costs €2080 for achieving a 20% increase in adherence or €3332 for achieving over 80% adherence. In sum, offering money as financial incentive for increasing compliance did not lead to an overall cost reduction as compared to care as usual. Trial registration NTR2350, 01 June 2010.

The effect of financial incentives on patients' motivation for treatment: results of "Money for Medication," a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Offering financial incentives is an effective intervention for improving adherence in patients taking antipsychotic depot medication. We assessed whether patients' motivation for treatment might be reduced after receiving financial rewards. METHODS: This study was part of Money for Medication, a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial, which demonstrated the positive effects of financial incentives on antipsychotic depot compliance. Three mental healthcare institutions in Dutch secondary psychiatric care services participated. Eligible patients were aged 18-65 years, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, had been prescribed antipsychotic depot medication or had an indication to start using depot medication, and were participating in outpatient treatment. For 12 months, patients were randomly assigned either to treatment as usual (control group) or to treatment as usual plus a financial reward for each depot of medication received (€30 per month if fully compliant; intervention group). They were followed up for 6 months, during which time no monetary rewards were offered for taking antipsychotic medication. To assess treatment motivation after 0, 12 and 18 months, interviews were conducted using a supplement to the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) and the Treatment Entry Questionnaire (TEQ). RESULTS: Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 84) or the control group (n = 85). After 12 months, HoNOS motivation scores were available for 131 patients (78%). Ninety-one percent of the patients had no or mild motivational problems for overall treatment; over time, there were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups. TEQ data was available for a subgroup of patients (n = 61), and showed no significant differences over time between the intervention and control groups for external motivation (ß = 0.37 95% CI: -2.49 - 3.23, p = 0.799); introjected motivation (ß = - 2.39 95% CI: -6.22 - 1.44, p = 0.222); and identified motivation (ß = - 0.91 95% CI: -4.42 - 2.61, p = 0.613). After the 6-month follow-up period, results for the HoNOS and TEQ scores remained comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Offering financial incentives for taking antipsychotic depot medication does not reduce patients' motivation for treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial registration, number NTR2350 .

Ethical acceptability of offering financial incentives for taking antipsychotic depot medication: patients' and clinicians' perspectives after a 12-month randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: A randomized controlled trial 'Money for Medication'(M4M) was conducted in which patients were offered financial incentives for taking antipsychotic depot medication. This study assessed the attitudes and ethical considerations of patients and clinicians who participated in this trial. METHODS: Three mental healthcare institutions in secondary psychiatric care in the Netherlands participated in this study. Patients (n = 169), 18-65 years, diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or another psychotic disorder who had been prescribed antipsychotic depot medication, were randomly assigned to receive 12 months of either treatment as usual plus a financial reward for each depot of medication received (intervention group) or treatment as usual alone (control group). Structured questionnaires were administered after the 12-month intervention period. Data were available for 133 patients (69 control and 64 intervention) and for 97 clinicians. RESULTS: Patients (88%) and clinicians (81%) indicated that financial incentives were a good approach to improve medication adherence. Ethical concerns were categorized according to the four-principles approach (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice). Patients and clinicians alike mentioned various advantages of M4M in clinical practice, such as increased medication adherence and improved illness insight; but also disadvantages such as reduced intrinsic motivation, loss of autonomy and feelings of dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, patients evaluated financial incentives as an effective method of improving medication adherence and were willing to accept this reward during clinical treatment. Clinicians were also positive about the use of this intervention in daily practice. Ethical concerns are discussed in terms of patient autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. We conclude that this intervention is ethically acceptable under certain conditions, and that further research is necessary to clarify issues of benefit, motivation and the preferred size and duration of the incentive. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Nederlands Trial Register, number NTR2350 .

Financial incentives for improving adherence to maintenance treatment in patients with psychotic disorders (Money for Medication): a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Provision of financial incentives is a promising intervention for improving adherence in patients taking antipsychotic medication. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of this intervention for improving adherence to antipsychotic depot medication in patients with psychotic disorders, irrespective of their previous compliance. METHODS: We did this multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial at three mental health-care institutions in secondary psychiatric care services in the Netherlands. Eligible patients were aged 18-65 years, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, had been prescribed antipsychotic depot medication or had an indication to start using depot medication, and were participating in outpatient treatment. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), via computer-generated randomisation with a block size of four, to receive 12 months of either treatment as usual plus a financial reward for each depot of medication received (€30 per month if fully compliant; intervention group) or treatment as usual alone (control group). Randomisation was stratified by treatment site and suspected prognostic factors: sex, comorbid substance-use disorder (absent vs present), and compliance with antipsychotic medication in the 4 months before baseline (<50% vs ≥50%). Patients, clinicians, interviewers, and research assistants were masked to group allocation before, but not after, group assignment. The primary outcome was the Medication Possession Ratio (MPR), defined as the number of depots of antipsychotic medication received divided by the total number of depots of antipsychotic medication prescribed during the 12 month intervention period. Patients were followed up for 6 months, during which time no monetary rewards were offered for taking antipsychotic medication. We did analysis by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the Nederlands Trial Register, number NTR2350. FINDINGS: Between May 21, 2010, and Oct 15, 2014, we randomly assigned 169 patients to the intervention group (n=84) or the control group (n=85). Primary outcome data were available for 155 (92%) patients. At baseline, the mean MPR was 76·0% (SD 28·2%) in the intervention group versus 77·9% (28·5%) in the control group. At 12 months, the mean MPR was higher in the intervention group (94·3% [SD 11·3%]) than in the control group (80·3% [19·1%]), with an adjusted difference of 14·9% (95% CI 8·9-20·9%; p<0·0001). This difference was maintained throughout the 6 month follow-up period: mean MPR of 86·6% (SD 22·2%) in the intervention group versus 76·0% (22·7%) in the control group (adjusted difference 6·5%, 95% CI 2·0-10·9; p=0·047). INTERPRETATION: Financial incentives are an effective way of improving adherence to antipsychotic depot medication among patients with psychotic disorders. Further research is needed to study the long-term effects of this intervention. FUNDING: Dual Diagnosis Center.

Depot-medication compliance for patients with psychotic disorders: the importance of illness insight and treatment motivation.

BACKGROUND: Noncompliance is a major problem for patients with a psychotic disorder. Two important risk factors for noncompliance that have a severe negative impact on treatment outcomes are impaired illness insight and lack of motivation. Our cross-sectional study explored how they are related to each other and their compliance with depot medication. METHODS: Interviews were conducted in 169 outpatients with a psychotic disorder taking depot medication. Four patient groups were defined based on low or high illness insight and on low or high motivation. The associations between depot-medication compliance, motivation, and insight were illustrated using generalized linear models. RESULTS: Generalized linear model showed a significant interaction effect between motivation and insight. Patients with poor insight and high motivation for treatment were more compliant (94%) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.821, 3.489) with their depot medication than patients with poor insight and low motivation (61%) (95% CI: 0.288, 0.615). Patients with both insight and high motivation for treatment were less compliant (73%) (95% CI: 0.719, 1.315) than those with poor insight and high motivation. CONCLUSION: Motivation for treatment was more strongly associated with depot-medication compliance than with illness insight. Being motivated to take medication, whether to get better or for other reasons, may be a more important factor than having illness insight in terms of improving depot-medication compliance. Possible implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Money for medication: a randomized controlled study on the effectiveness of financial incentives to improve medication adherence in patients with psychotic disorders.

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence with antipsychotic medication is a frequently occurring problem, particularly among patients with psychotic disorders. Prior research has generally shown encouraging results for interventions based on 'Contingency Management' (CM), in which desirable behaviour is encouraged by providing rewards contingent upon the behaviour. However, little is known about the application of CM on medication adherence in patients with psychotic disorders. An earlier pilot-study by our study group showed promising results in reducing admission days and increasing adherence. The current study is a randomized controlled trial concerning the effectiveness of a CM procedure called 'Money for Medication' (M4M), aimed at improving adherence with antipsychotic depot medication in psychotic disorder patients. METHODS/DESIGN: Outpatients (n =168) with a psychotic disorder will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n =84), receiving a financial reward for each accepted antipsychotic medication depot, or the control group (n =84), receiving treatment as usual without financial rewards. Patients are included regardless of their previous adherence. The intervention has a duration of twelve months. During the subsequent six months follow-up, the effects of discontinuing the intervention on depot acceptance will be assessed. The primary goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness of providing financial incentives for improving adherence with antipsychotic depot medication (during and after the intervention). The primary outcome measure is the percentage of accepted depots in comparison to prescription. Secondary, we will consider alternative measures of medication acceptance, i.e. the longest period of uninterrupted depot acceptance and the time expired before depot is taken. Additionally, the effectiveness of the experimental intervention will be assessed in terms of psychosocial functioning, substance use, medication side-effects, quality of life, motivation, cost-utility and patients' and clinicians' attitudes towards M4M. DISCUSSION: This RCT assesses the effectiveness and side-effects of financial incentives in improving adherence with antipsychotic depot medication in patients with psychotic disorders. This study is designed to assess whether M4M is an effective intervention to improve patients' acceptance of their antipsychotic depot medication and to examine how this intervention contributes to patients' functioning and wellbeing. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NTR2350 .