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‘Psychiatric jabs for cash tested’
BBC News online

Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine: Professor Stefan Priebe

A team from Queen Mary are trialling a project that will see patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia being paid to take their medication. The scheme will involve 68 patients receiving £15 for every injection of an anti-psychotic drug. Mental health charity Mind warned that patients should be taking their medication for health benefits, not for financial reward, although the team at Queen Mary have taken into account the ethical issues raised with these methods. Professor Stefan Priebe, who leads the study, said: “We had to seek ethical approval and interviewed 25 focus groups of stakeholders. We decided on the £15 sum because it is a relatively small amount of money. It is an incentive. You do not want people to become dependent on the money.”

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