Risk of subsequent relapses and corresponding healthcare costs among recently-relapsed Medicaid patients with schizophrenia: a real-world retrospective cohort study.

To compare adherence, rates of subsequent schizophrenia-related relapses, healthcare resource utilization, and healthcare costs among Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia who initiated once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) versus a new oral atypical antipsychotic (OAA) following a recent schizophrenia-related relapse. Six-state Medicaid data (01/2009-03/2018) were used to identify adults with schizophrenia initiated on PP1M or OAA (index date) within 30 days following a schizophrenia-related relapse (defined as a schizophrenia-related inpatient or emergency room visit). Patients were required to have 12 months of continuous eligibility before (baseline) and after (observation) the index date. Differences in baseline characteristics between PP1M and OAA patients were accounted for using 1:3 matching. After matching, characteristics were well-balanced between PP1M ( Among patients with a recent schizophrenia-related relapse, PP1M was associated with a lower risk of subsequent relapse while remaining a cost neutral therapeutic option compared to OAAs.