Table 4 Clinician-perceived facilitators of clozapine treatment for included clozapine-eligible patients.

From: Non-prescribing of clozapine for outpatients with schizophrenia in real-world settings: The clinicians’ perspectives

Clozapine-facilitating initiatives listed in the survey questionnaires

1. Distribution of all chosen facilitators (n (%))

2. Distribution of chosen main facilitators (n (%))

 

In total (ncases=38)

By care providers (ncases=36)

By psychiatrists (ncases=31)

In total (ncases=37)

By care providers (ncases=35)

By psychiatrists (ncases=27)

1. Usage of topical anesthetics before blood sampling

1 (2.6)

1 (2.8)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

2. Usage of point-of-care (POC) devices for finger-prick hematological monitoring

4 (10.5)

3 (8.3)

1 (3.2)

1 (2.7)

1 (2.9)

0 (0)

3. Decreased blood sampling frequency

12 (31.6)

10 (27.8)

3 (9.7)

5 (13.5)

5 (14.3)

0 (0)

4. Blood sampling and ECG recording performed in the out-patient clinic

2 (5.3)

1 (2.8)

1 (3.2)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

5. Blood sampling and ECG recording performed in the patient’s home

12 (31.6)

9 (25.0)

5 (16.1)

9 (24.3)

7 (20.0)

2 (7.4)

(initiatives related to blood sampling (in total)) (i.e., usage of topical anesthetics OR POC devices OR blood sampling and ECG recording in clinic/at home OR decreased blood sampling frequency)

(16 (42.1))

(13 (36.1)*)

(7 (22.6))

(14 (37.8))

(13 (37.1)*)

(2 (7.4))

6. Special-developed patient information on clozapine treatment (e.g., videos with specialists and patients sharing their own experiences with clozapine)

4 (10.5)

4 (11.1)

0 (0)

1 (2.7)

1 (2.9)

0 (0)

7. Employment of peers/clozapine ambassadors

2 (5.3)

2 (5.6)

0 (0)

1 (2.7)

1 (2.9)

0 (0)

8. Reference to a specialized clozapine unit for clozapine initiation

5 (13.2)

5 (13.9)

1 (3.2)

1 (2.7)

1 (2.9)

0 (0)

9. Access to other administration forms of clozapine (e.g., as intra-muscular injections (not long-acting))

3 (7.9)

3 (8.3)

0 (0)

2 (5.4)

2 (5.7)

0 (0)

10. Enforced commencement

6 (15.8)

5 (13.9)

3 (9.7)

5 (13.5)

2 (5.7)

3 (11.1)

11. Other initiatives

21 (55.3)

16 (44.4)*

12 (38.7)

2 (5.4)

1 (2.9)

1 (3.7)

Added initiatives:

- Long-term admission/residency at a psychiatric institution/close follow-up

14 (36.8),

11 (30.6),

9 (29.0),

2 (5.4),

1 (2.9),

1 (3.7),

- Quit substance abuse

7 (18.4),

3 (8.3),

4 (12.9),

0 (0),

0 (0),

0 (0),

- Weight loss

2 (5.3),

1 (2.8),

1 (3.2),

0 (0),

0 (0),

0 (0),

- Clozapine available as a long-acting injectable

1 (2.6),

1 (2.8),

0 (0),

0 (0),

0 (0),

0 (0),

- Possibility to refrain from blood sampling

4 (10.5)

3 (8.3)

1 (3.2)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

12. No initiatives are relevant for this patient

28 (73.7)*

13 (36.1)*

23 (74.2)*

28 (75.7)*

9 (25.7)*

19 (70.4)*

13. Don’t know

5 (13.2)

5 (13.9)

2 (6.5)

7 (18.9)

5 (14.3)

2 (7.4)

  1. Notes
  2. The table shows the distribution of case-specific facilitators of clozapine treatment, chosen by clinicians. The clinicians were asked to choose all facilitators of relevance to a specific case (column 1), as well as the main facilitator (the facilitator considered most relevant in each patient-case) (column 2). The distribution is shown as the number and percent (n (%)) of patient-cases for which a particular facilitator is chosen.
  3. *The most frequent choices are marked with an asterisk*.
  4. In some patient-cases, both a psychiatrist and a clinical care provider returned a questionnaire regarding the same patient, however, in other cases only one clinician returned a questionnaire or one had skipped parts of the survey. The number of patient-cases with clinician responses thus differs between the total number of cases and the number of cases stratified by care providers and psychiatrists.
Back to article page