Medication Adherence Project
Florida was awarded a grant by Noven Pharmaceuticals in June 2008. The Florida Psychiatric Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) took the lead on a project that aims to educate physicians and patients on the importance of medication adherence to reduce the suicide risk. Medication adherence is the extent to which individuals take their medications as prescribed by a doctor. It is important for doctors to understand how critical it is to closely monitor patients during the first few weeks of taking a new medication and teach patients how important it is to take their medication compliantly. The guide entitled What Physicians Need to Know about Depression, Medications and Suicide examines myths about the relationship between antidepressants and suicide and discusses the implications for physicians. What Patients, Family Members and Friends Need to Know about Depression, Medications and Suicide encourages early identification and treatment of depression, and medication adherence.
The Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention supports reducing suicide risk through education and awareness. The partnership with Noven, the Florida Psychiatric Society and the National Alliance on Mental Illness has allowed our state to intervene at a critical point; the prescribing of psychiatric medications to those who are suffering from a mental illness. The development of educational tools for physician and patients encourages informed prescribing and proper medication adherence. This is an important step in reducing suicide risk and ensuring patients receive appropriate care.
Contributing to development of the guides were Daniel Castellanos, MD, of Florida International University; Abbey Strauss, MD, of Boca Raton, FL; Rajiv Tandon, MD, of the University of Florida; and Wayne Goodman, MD, Jane Pearson, PhD of the National Institute of Mental Health, and Florida's Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention, Executive Office of the Governor. The guides were funded in part by a grant from Noven Therapeutics, LLC, which had no control over its content. Printing and distribution of the information was funded in part by grants from the Eli Lilly Company and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
The brochures are available in both print and electronic form. For information on how to obtain printed copies, contact Bonnie Toole with the Florida Psychiatric Society at 850-222-8404.
