Extended dosing reduces the need for
daily treatment1
LAIs meet a vital need
Long-acting injectable (LAI)—or “depot injection”—antipsychotic medications play a critical role in schizophrenia management. Guidelines call for early, effective, uninterrupted treatment, and an LAI may help fill that need.1,2 Explore insights that support earlier treatment with LAIs for appropriate patients.
Key benefits of LAIs for your patients
LAIs offer distinct benefits depending on each patient's needs and preferences.1
Therapeutic plasma levels can
be reached rapidly3
Reduced risk of schizophrenia relapse1
Consistent pharmacokinetic exposure may improve symptoms3
Put your LAI knowledge to the test
Perceptions about LAIs have evolved with continued opportunity for greater treatment impact. Learn more by taking this quiz.
Adherence to oral schizophrenia
medication is easy for providers to detect.
Adherence is often overestimated by patients, clinicians, and caregivers in schizophrenia.4
Simple methods to evaluate adherence,
such as patient reports or pill counts, are frequently used, but they are indirect, somewhat unreliable, and often inconsistent.5
Standard clinical assessments of adherence in patients with exacerbated psychosis, often based on patient self-report or collateral input, may not align with objective plasma level findings. This underscores the need for fast, reliable, and readily available methods to evaluate antipsychotic blood levels in clinical settings.6
Patients are unlikely to accept LAIs.
Some clinicians may believe that certain patients won't accept LAI treatment because of fear of needles or potential side effects.7 Therefore, they might avoid discussing LAIs as an option with these patients.8
It turns out, a study analyzing HCP and patient perceptions of LAIs found that HCPs overestimated patients' concerns. In fact, patients did, too. While patients receiving oral treatment reported some hesitation about LAIs, their concerns did not match the experiences of those already on an LAI.9 Some patients may prefer not to be reminded of their condition more frequently than necessary, making the longer treatment intervals offered by LAIs appealing.10
LAIs are only for nonadherent or recurrently relapsing patients.
Actually, guidelines suggest the use of LAIs for patients with a history of poor or uncertain adherence.¹ They also support LAIs for patients who prefer them.¹ In addition, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the proactive use of LAIs in the early stages of
treatment.11-13
Patients who have rejected LAIs before are unlikely to change their minds.
If a patient initially declines an LAI, it
doesn’t mean that this will be their opinion forever.8 Sometimes changes in clinical status such as a recent hospitalization can be associated with changes in patient treatment preferences.14 This is why it can be useful to check in with the patient and reintroduce LAIs as a treatment option.
References: 1. American Psychiatric Association. The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the
Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia. 3rd ed. American Psychiatric Association; 2021. 2. Correll CU, Martin A, Patel C, et al. Systematic literature review of schizophrenia clinical practice guidelines on acute and maintenance management with antipsychotics. Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2022;8:5. 3. Bera RB. Patient outcomes within schizophrenia treatment: a look at the role of long-acting injectable antipsychotics. J Clin Psychiatry. 2014;75(suppl 2):30-33. 4. Acosta FJ, Hernández JL, Pereira J, Herrera J, Rodríguez CJ. Medication adherence in schizophrenia. World J Psychiatry. 2012;2(5):74-82. 5. Kane JM, Kishimoto T, Correll CU. Non-adherence to medication in patients with psychotic disorders: epidemiology, contributing factors and management strategies. World Psychiatry. 2013;12(3):216-226. 6. Lopez LV, Shaikh A, Merson J, Greenberg J, Suckow RF, Kane JM. Accuracy of clinician assessments of medication status in the emergency setting: a comparison of clinician assessment of antipsychotic usage and plasma level determination. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2017;37(3):310-314. 7. Velligan D, Salinas GD, Belcher E, et al. Preferences for selecting and initiating long-acting injectable antipsychotic agents for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia: results from the US DECIDE survey. Schizophr Bull Open. 2025;6(1):sgaf001. 8. Weiden PJ, Roma RS, Velligan DI, Alphs L, DiChiara M, Davidson B. The challenge of offering long-acting antipsychotic therapies: a preliminary discourse analysis of psychiatrist recommendations for injectable therapy to patients with schizophrenia. J Clin Psychiatry. 2015;76(6):684-690. 9. Cahling L, Berntsson A, Bröms G, Öhrmalm L. Perceptions and knowledge of antipsychotics among mental health professionals and patients. BJPsych Bull. 2017;41(5):254-259. 10. Blackwood C, Sanga P, Nuamah I, et al. Patients’ preference for long-acting injectable versus oral antipsychotics in schizophrenia: results from the patient-reported Medication Preference Questionnaire. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2020;14:1093-1102. 11. American Association of Community Psychiatrists. AACP Clinical Tips Series. Long acting antipsychotic medications. December 2017. Accessed April 13, 2026. https://issuu.com/gaparticles/docs/aacp_clinical_tip-laa_december_2017_/1. 12. Huang C-Y, Fang S-C, Shao Y-HJ. Comparison of long-acting injectable antipsychotics with oral antipsychotics and suicide and all-cause mortality in patients with newly diagnosed schizophrenia. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e218810. 13. Tiihonen J, Haukka J, Taylor M, Haddad PM, Patel MX, Korhonen P. A nationwide cohort study of oral and depot antipsychotics after first hospitalization for schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2011;168(6):603-609. 14. Khandker R, Shepherd J, Chekani F, et al. Atypical treatment switches in schizophrenia patients: drivers and associated outcomes. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2022;18:1057-1067.
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Why LAIs
In the treatment of schizophrenia, LAI antipsychotic medications offer features and benefits that positively impact patients and healthcare providers.
Explore LAI Benefits