Schizophrenia: diagnosis and continuing treatment of Practice from the European Expert Panel on the Contemporary Treatment of Schizophrenia

Providing optimal treatment for people with schizophrenia is a difficult long-term problem for clinicians and healthcare providers. Over theyears a variety of approaches to treatment have evolved and, until now, there have been no widely accepted standards for care. To determine the principles underpinning the best practice for schizophrenia treatment, an Expert Panel of European psychiatrists and psychologists has worked to distil current theory, collective practical experiences and published literature into 17 basic Principles of Practice. These are not intended to duplicate or replace local treatment policies or guidelines. Instead, they describe best practice in diagnosis, patient assessment and long-term treatment of schizophrenia as itexists at the beginning of the 21 st