Psychiatric patients receive cash for taking their medication correctly
UK doctors are trialling a new scheme which sees psychiatric patients receive cash for taking their medication correctly, reports BBC News.
68 patients suffering with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia are participating in a new scheme in which they are rewarded with £15 for every jab of anti-psychotic drug they take, giving them a possible annual income of up to £720.
Mental health charity Mind has condemned the scheme, stating that people should be taking medication purely for health benefits and not for money but as non-adherence with medication soars , Queen Mary’s University of London explains that the scheme hopes to encourage “difficult” patients to comply in a bid to reduce relapse risks and NHS costs.
Figures show that missing as little as one to 10 days of oral anti-psychotic therapy almost doubles the risk of the patient being readmitted. In order to avoid this doctors often prescribe injectable versions of the pills, but even then it is not guaranteed patients will turn up for their jabs.
With the new ‘cash for jab scheme’ Not only will patients become more compliant and happy to trade injections for cash, but hopefully the scheme will be quick to pay for itself as it will cut down hospital admissions.