Psychiatrists ’ Judgments About Antipsychotic Benefit and Risk Outcomes and Formulation in Schizophrenia Treatment

Objective: The objectives were to quantify psychiatrists ’ judgments of the benefits and risks of antipsychotic treatments of patients with schizophrenia and to evaluate how patient adherence history affects these judgments. Methods:Weights assigned by respondents to risks, benefits, and alternative drug formulations in the treatment of schizophrenia were assessed via a Web-based survey by using a discrete-choice experiment. Respondents in the United States and the United Kingdom chose among alternative sce-narios characterized by various levels of improvement in positive symptoms, negative symptoms, social functioning, weight gain, extrapyramidal symp-toms (EPS), hyperprolactinemia, and hyperglycemia and by formulation. The effect of patient adherence history on respondents ’ judgments was also assessed. Random-parameters logit and bivariate probit models were esti-mated. Results: The sample included 394 psychiatrists. Improvement in positive symptoms from “no improvement ” to “very much improved ” was the most preferred outcome over the range of improvements included an