A survey of personnel and services offered in 32 outpatient US clozapine clinics

Abstract

Background: Clozapine clinics can facilitate greater access to clozapine, but there is a paucity of data on their structure in the US. Methods: A 23-item survey was administered to participants recruited from the SMI Adviser Clozapine Center of Excellence listserv to understand characteristics of clozapine clinics. Results: Clozapine clinics (N = 32) had a median caseload of 45 (IQR = 21–88) patients and utilized a median of 5 (IQR = 4–6) interdisciplinary roles. The most common roles included psychiatrists (100%), pharmacists (65.6%), nurses (65.6%), psychiatric nurse practitioners (53.1%), and case managers (53.1%). The majority of clinics outreached to patients who were overdue for labs (78.1%) and had access to on-site phlebotomy (62.5%). Less than half had on call services (46.9%). Conclusions: In this first systematic description of clozapine clinics in the US, there was variation in the size, staffing, and services offered. These findings may serve as a window into configurations of clozapine teams.