Medication Safety and Quality: A Clinical Problem in Mental Health Care

Medication Safety and Quality: A Clinical Problem in Mental Health Care
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Medication Safety and Quality: A Clinical Problem in Mental Health Care
A significant share of the overall illness burden across the globe is attributed to mental health diseases (Ayre et al., 2023). Medication mistakes are also a grave public health issue and a significant cause of mortality within the United States (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). It is increasingly crucial to ensure medicines are correctly managed to foster current interventions and recovery efforts for individuals struggling with psychological health issues. Different factors contribute to the safety and quality of medicine management procedures in mental health hospital settings, including medicines utilized (e.g., precarious medication tracking, high dosage/integrated psychotropic prescription), patient categorization (e.g., withdrawn/disturbed behaviors, lack of information about illnesses management, and increased physical health co-morbidity), and health care system (e.g., medicines reconciliation, medication administration practices, and psychological health legislation) (Keers et al., 2020). Amid this backdrop, it is increasingly vital to evaluate the problem of medication safety and quality in mental healthcare settings.
Description of the Problem
Despite its significance, limited studies have evaluated the issue of medication safety and quality in mental healthcare settings. Keers et al. (2018) noted that unlicensed psychotropic prescribing, psychotropic polypharmacy, and utilization of risky medicines including clozapine, lithium, and depot antipsychotics are well-established in mentally ill patients and offer unique hurdles to the safe utilization of medication.