SECTION 1 PREFACE

PREFACE

I host a weekly online education and consultation service based on the ECHO® model for clinician support. The model revolves around the concept of moving clinically useful information out of ivory towers and into the hands of the many frontline clinicians who could use it.

I’ve learned from my work in this area that many primary care clinicians are asked to solve clinical problems involving psychosis.

The primary care clinician may be the first medical professional that a person with psychosis sees. And in many cases, the primary care clinician may be the only medical professional available to the patient for the foreseeable future. The primary care clinician may be the one asked to determine the cause of psychosis and to treat it.

This guide aims to help primary care clinicians screen for psychosis, determine underlying causes, and initiate treatment, if necessary, while patients wait for specialist care. To provide straightforward guidance and clear, actionable steps, I’ve simplified a complicated topic, but I hope that learning these key points will build the foundation for you to feel comfortable discussing and assessing psychosis in your patients.

This guide can help primary care clinicians: • Understand and recognize psychosis • Effectively search for medical or pharmacological causes of psychosis • Initiate treatment for psychosis, if needed • Prevent and mitigate side effects of psychiatric medications

This guide is also a work in progress. Please do consider sending me your feedback and suggestions for making this a more useful guide for primary care clinicians engaged this important, compassionate work.

Rootstown, Ohio September 2022 Erik Messamore, M.D., Ph.D.