Risperidone prescribing for dementia has been a hot topic in 2019 — and a new study provides some perspective.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy surprised GPs earlier this year when he took the stand at the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and announced he wanted to block streamlined authority approvals for risper­idone beyond 12 weeks.

Australian Doctor reader reaction was mixed, but the RACGP cautiously welcomed the idea.

The TGA indication for risperidone to treat behavioural symptoms of dementia is limited to 12 weeks and to cases of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease; however, it has been claimed that GPs face pressure to renew scripts for agitated patients in aged care facilities.