Challenge of optimising medication in people with severe mental illness

Mental health problems affect at least 1 in 4 people, cost the UK £105 billion annually and represent 28% of the total UK disease burden affecting all levels of society.1 Internationally, mental health accounts for 1 in 5 years lived with disability, and in 2019 WHO launched a special initiative specifically focused on mental health.2 COVID-19 is widely acknowledged to have increased this burden; early research identified a reduction in reported problems, but this most likely simply reflects the difficulty in accessing healthcare because many non-COVID services had limited capacity.3 Primary care is key to identifying and managing people with mental health problems; data from England suggest that 40% of general practitioner (GP) consultations involve mental health problems, and 30% to 50% of people with severe mental illness (SMI) such as psychosis or bipolar disorder are solely supported by primary care without specialist input.

Source: Quality and Safety in Health Care - April 19, 2022 Category: Health Management Authors: Maidment, I., Sud, D., Chew-Graham, C. Tags: Editorials Source Type: research