Janssen®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced the launch in California of Janssen® Connect™, a new service for psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals and their patients who have been prescribed a Janssen® long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic medicine. These medicines are INVEGA® SUSTENNA® (paliperidone palmitate), for the treatment of schizophrenia, and RISPERDAL® CONSTA® (risperidone), for the treatment of schizophrenia and longer-term treatment of Bipolar I Disorder.

Janssen® Connect™ is a service designed to help make it easier for patients to access Janssen® long-acting injectable therapies. Janssen® partners with treatment teams that request to be a part of the program and works directly with them to provide their patients with support and resources, including: alternate injection sites of care, such as pharmacies; trained healthcare professionals to provide injections; facilities that may be more conveniently located for patients; access and reimbursement services; appointment reminders; and scheduling of future injection appointments.

"We are pleased to offer this program to prescribers and patients, as part of our long-standing commitment to people with mental illness," said Denice Torres, president of Janssen®.

The move from an inpatient to an outpatient setting may be complicated for some people with mental illness, and this transition is critical to the process of recovery. Janssen® Connect™ assists with this transition by keeping inpatient and outpatient healthcare professionals and planners informed about timing of injections, doses of medication, adverse events or patient concerns. Healthcare professionals also will be notified if a patient has missed an appointment or was not given medication for any reason, which can help identify situations in which a physician may need to intervene.

Janssen® Connect™ reimbursement-support services and care-coordination services are provided as a service by Proherant Health Inc., under contract for Janssen®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. These support services are made available as a convenience to patients, and no additional compensation is required from or paid to patients or prescribers. Proherant Health, Inc. and other providers are responsible for the services they provide.

Source:
Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.