Martha Sajatovic, MD

Treatment nonadherence in psychiatric patients contributes to increased suicide rates, illness exacerbation, hospitalization, and mortality. This Special Report countdown highlights the psychiatrist’s role in addressing barriers to treatment in a number of scenarios.

The articles in this 2-part Special Report spotlight the issue of poor adherence, particularly medication adherence, and take on some of the multiple areas where interventions may be possible.

Clinicians need to consider and manage multiple medical and cognitive comorbidities when working with the elderly population. This slideshow provides an overview of key points relevant to geriatric bipolar disorder as it relates to comorbidity.

Key issues about geriatric bipolar disorder-epidemiology, assessment, medical and psychiatric comorbidity, and treatment-are the focus.

Optimal management of bipolar disorder (BD) includes the careful selection and regular ingestion of appropriate medication to stabilize mood. Unfortunately, between 40% and 50% of patients with BD in routine clinical settings take breaks or forget to take their medication or even discontinue the drug altogether.1-3 Treatment nonadherence is associated with mood relapse, hospitalization, and suicide.4,5