Examining the relationship between adjunctive psychotherapy use and antipsychotic persistence and hospitalization.

ABSTRACT

This study assessed whether the addition of adjunctive psychotherapy to antipsychotic pharmacotherapy improved antipsychotic persistence and reduced the risk of hospitalization among patients with schizophrenia using 2001-2003 Medicaid claims data from four states Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina. New antipsychotic users aged 18 or older were included. Our study showed that adjunctive psychotherapy use was associated with increased antipsychotic persistence during the first two months of treatment but was not associated with risk of hospitalization. Further research is needed to understand how to optimize the benefits of psychotherapy in terms of frequency of appointments, duration, and type.