Introduction
The market research on therapeutic concepts used in the treatment of psychotic disorders aimed to identify the educational needs of psychiatrists based on clinical cases in psychiatry. Another objective was to verify the knowledge of participating doctors regarding the use of atypical antipsychotic medication in the treatment of:
- Schizophrenia
- Moderate and severe manic episodes in bipolar affective disorder
- Severe depressive episodes in bipolar affective disorder
- Severe depressive episodes in patients with major depressive disorder
The final step involved analyzing the therapeutic decisions made by doctors and understanding the main therapeutic pathways used by psychiatrists in the treatment with atypical antipsychotic medication, one of which is produced by our strategic partner in the pharmaceutical industry.
Implementation
The study consisted of two stages. In the first stage, clinical cases of psychotic patients were presented, and doctors recommended therapeutic interventions by specifying:
- What to pay attention to?
- What is the most likely diagnosis?
- What should be the course of action?
- Why was a treatment other than atypical antipsychotic medication used (if applicable)?
The second stage of the study focused directly on the use of the discussed medication, including aspects such as:
- Clinical symptoms requiring its use
- Number of patients for whom the medication was prescribed
- Dosages used in the treatment of specific diseases
Additionally, doctors presented thematic areas related to the medication that, in their opinion, should be discussed more extensively during interactions with medical representatives. The study also addressed the expansion of reimbursement indications.
Results
The conducted study allowed us to determine that:
- The most frequently indicated clinical symptom for prescribing the medication was sleep disturbances (80.0%). A significant number of indications were also noted for psychiatric symptoms (75.0%). Almost 2/3 of doctors included the studied atypical antipsychotic medication in the treatment of affective mood disorders and when there were symptoms and complaints related to emotional state.
- In the study, it was observed that 3/4 of doctors considered expanding reimbursement indications for the studied medication to be beneficial. Conversely, one in ten participating doctors stated that expanding reimbursement would be unfavorable. Affective mood disorders were the most common indication (71.0%) for which potential reimbursement expansion should be introduced according to doctors.
- More than half of the doctors (51.3%) believed that the impact of the studied medication on the components of the metabolic syndrome should be discussed more extensively during interactions with medical representatives. The second most commonly indicated aspect was the impact of the studied medication on reducing the risk of suicide (35.3%).
