Measuring the economic benefit of treatment with atypical antipsychotics

Schizophrenia has a major impact on the quality of life of sufferers, and its broader impact on families and on society are well known, although less thoroughly documented. The majority of sufferers require long-term treatment and support, and there are depressingly frequent media stories about violent incidents involving people with the illness. Consequently the costs of schizophrenia, broadly defined, loom large, not just from the perspective of health care decision-makers and governments, but also from that of sufferers and their families, to many other people with only indirect experience of the disease.