Re-starting the conversation: improving shared decision making in antipsychotic prescribing

Shared Decision-Making (SDM) is one of the key components of patient-centred care. People diagnosed with schizophrenia/psychosis still face significant barriers to achieving this, particularly when it comes to antipsychotic medication prescribing. These barriers include issues such as stigma, feelings of coercion and lack of information. Clinicians also describe barriers to achieving SDM in antipsychotic prescribing, including a lack of training and support. In this viewpoint article, we provide a summary of these barriers from the perspectives of both service users and clinicians based. We suggest that, to make a practical first step towards achieving SDM, the conversation around antipsychotic prescribing needs to be re-started. However, the onus to do this should not be placed solely on the shoulders of Service Users. More research is needed to address this issue.