Current guidelines recommend regular metabolic screening tests for individuals with serious mental illnesses including blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol. Rates of screening appear to be improving over time in public sector settings; however, they vary greatly across different settings and screening for lipids still lags behind other metabolic tests. Implementation of standard protocols has been shown to improve screening rates. Clinicians should work with their clinics to develop onsite screening capacity and implement protocols for their patients with SMI.
REFERENCES
Baller J. et al. Screening for cardiovascular risk factors in adults with serious mental illness: a review of the evidence. BMC Psychiatry. 2015 Mar 21;15:55. doi: 10.1186/s12888-015-0416-y.
Morrato E. et al. Metabolic Testing for Adults in a State Medicaid Program Receiving Antipsychotics: Remaining Barriers to Achieving Population Health Prevention Goals. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Jul 1;73(7):721-30.