Drug Delivery Strategies

Abstract

Objective: An overview of the emerging field of long-term delivery strategies for improved convenience and adherence with psychiatric medications is provided. This review is motivated by the hypothesis that adherence to treatment is an important determinant of clinical outcomes in a wide range of settings and is particularly important in psychiatry practice where patients require treatment for months or years and premature discontinuation can have serious consequences for patient health and quality of life.

Design: The author reviews the relevant literature and highlights several approaches to providing improved access to continuous medication through new and innovative delivery strategies ranging from days to annual intervals.

Benefits and Disadvantages: Several solutions to the problem of discontinuous access to pharmacotherapy are being developed in the form of new, long-acting drug-delivery systems, which gradually release medication over a period of several days or weeks with a single application. Long-acting formulations of psychiatric medications offer...