Long-acting injectable medications for schizophrenia can decrease the likelihood of patient rehospitalizations, according to a new Rutgers University Health study. In their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, researchers concluded that compared to oral antipsychotics, injections accounted for a 75% reduction of hospital readmissions. Rutgers Health analyzed data pulled from hospital systems where patients were discharged with schizophrenia or schizoaffective-related disorders from August 2019 to June 2022. Of total discharged patients, 240 individuals were given oral medications while 103 opted for long-acting injections.
The results showed that patients given antipsychotics in pill form had a hospital readmission rate of 8.3% over a 30-day period. Meanwhile, of patients that were administered drugs by injection, less than 2% returned to the hospital within a month. To read the full story.