Physical illness in patients with severe mental disorders. II. Barriers to care, monitoring and treatment guidelines, plus recommendations at the system and individual level

As outlined in the first part of this bi-partite publication 1, individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are at an increased risk for a large number of physical disorders that require clinical attention. People with SMI are entitled to the same standards of care as the rest of the population. However, rates of undiagnosed and untreated medical illnesses are higher in SMI individuals, compared to the general population. Despite the fact that the higher morbidity and mortality of physical illnesses in SMI patients are largely due to modifiable lifestyle risk factors 1, there is sufficient evidence that disparities not only in health care access and utilization, but also in health care provision, contribute…

• BS
  Bristol-Myers Squibb
• P
  Pfizer
• SI
  Società Italiana di Psichiatria Biologica