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Antipsychotic medication in learning disability Impact of audit and evidence-based medicine on quality of prescribing in a community assessment treatment unit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sherva E. Cooray  and
Jovanka Tolmac
Sherva E. Cooray*
Affiliation:
Parkside Health Trust, Kingsbury Community Hospital Honeypot Lane, London NW9 9QY
Jovanka Tolmac
Affiliation:
Parkside Health Trust, Kingsbury Community Hospital Honeypot Lane, London NW9 9QY
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

Antipsychotic medication, an effective treatment modality in the management of psychiatric/behaviour disorders in people with learning disability, is often criticised because of poor clinical practice. Rational and judicious use, subject to evidence-based guidelines and systematic monitoring, is mandatory. A five-year clinical audit programme on the quality of prescribing for this clientele was undertaken.

Results

Significant quality improvement with minimal resource consumption was demonstrated.

Clinical implications

Clinical audit facilitates high-quality prescribing: pragmatic and economic, it can easily be integrated into routine clinical practice.

Type
Original Papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 22 , Issue 10 , October 1998 , pp. 601 - 604
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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