Journey of the Veteran Health Administration Population With Recent Schizophrenia Diagnosis: A Real-World Analysis of Treatment Patterns and Healthcare Burden

Background: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that affects ~0.3-0.7% of the population worldwide and poses a significant economic and societal burden.

Objectives: To describe treatment patterns, all-cause healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among patients with recent schizophrenia diagnosis in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) population.

Methods: VHA patients with recent schizophrenia diagnosis (index date), age 18+ years, had continuous enrollment for ≥12 months pre-index date (baseline) and ≥12 months post-index date (follow-up), and no evidence of schizophrenia from the baseline were identified from 01APR2014 - 31DEC2017. Treatment patterns, all-cause HCRU, and costs during the follow-up period were examined.

Results: Total 20,389 (32.6%) patients with recent schizophrenia diagnosis met the inclusion criteria from 7 million VHA enrollees. During the follow-up period, 64.0% received at least one oral anti-psychotic therapy (OAT) and only 11.6% received at least one long acting injectable (LAI). Among OAT users, 83.5% discontinued OAT, yet only 9.0% switched to LAI. About 33.8% of patients had an inpatient stay, with mean inpatient length of stay of 14 days, mean total bed sections of 17,963, and 5.5% of the patients had a 30-day readmission after hospitalization. All-cause total costs per patient per year were $40,989, out of which $38,716 were attributed to medical costs.

Conclusion: Current treatment patterns for patients with a recent schizophrenia diagnosis should be further evaluated as potential drivers for increased HCRU and medical costs.

This poster was presented at the 32nd annual Psych Congress, held Oct. 3-6, 2019, in San Diego, California.