Positions
Associate Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology
Section Chief, Training director of the Teaching Unit and Staff Psychiatrist, Arkansas State Hospital
Assistant Director of Research, Arkansas Mental Health Research and Training Institute
Contacts
Phone: (501) 686-9000
State Hospital e-mail: Purushottam.Thapa@arkansas.gov
University e-mail: ThapaPurushottamB@uams.edu
Research Expertise
Dr. Thapa is an experienced pharmacoepidemiologist with extensive experience conducting large epidemiologic studies. Much of his current research has focused in improving care for individuals with mental illness in the public mental health sector, including improving medication management for those with serious mental illness and integrating care for those with co-occurring disorders. He has set up a monitoring system for metabolic side effects of antipsychotics for all patients at the Arkansas State Hospital with future plans to extend this to other public sector mental health entities.
Research Interests:
Psychopharmacoepidemiology, improving quality of care for individuals with SMI
Recent Publications
Owen RR, Hudson TJ, Thrush CR, Thapa PB, Armitage T, Landes RD. The effectiveness of guideline implementation strategies on improving antipsychotic medication management for schizophrenia. Medical Care, 46(7): 686-691, 2008.
Thapa PB, Walton MA, Cunningham R, Maio RF, Han X, Savary PE, Booth BM. Substance Use Following an Emergency Department (ED) Visit for Cocaine-Associated Chest Pain. Journal of Drug Issues, in press.
Hudson TJ, Owen RR, Thrush CR, Armitage TL, Thapa PB. Guideline Implementation and Patient-tailoring Strategies to Improve Medication Adherence for Schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatr, 69:74-80, 2008.
Hudson TJ, Owen RR, Thrush CR, Han X, Pyne JM, Thapa PB, Sullivan G. A pilot study of barriers to medication adherence in schizophrenia. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65 (2): 211-216, 2004.
Ray WA, Meredith S, Thapa PB, Hall K, Murray KT. Cyclic antidepressants and risk of sudden cardiac death. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 75(3):234-241, 2004.
Williams DK, Thrush CR, Armitage TL, Owen RR, Hudson TJ, Thapa PB. The effect of guideline implementation strategies on akathisia outcomes in schizophrenia. The Journal of Applied Research, (4), 470-482, 2003.
Thapa PB, Palmer SL, Owen RR, Huntley AL, Clardy JA, Miller LH. Do PRN (“as needed”) orders for psychotropic medications expose psychiatric inpatients to unnecessary medication? Psychiatric Services 54:1282-1286, 2003.
Ray WA, Thapa PB, Gideon P. Misclassification of benzodiazepine exposure by use of a single baseline measurement and its effects on studies of injuries. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 11(8):663-9, 2002.
Ray WA, Meredith S, Thapa PB, Meador KG, Hall K, Murray KT. Antipsychotics and the risk of sudden cardiac death. Arch Gen Psychiatry 58:1161-1167, 2001.
Ray WA, Thapa PB, Gideon P. Benzodiazepines and the risk of falls in nursing home residents. JAGS 48(6):682-5, 2000.
Cooper WO, Hickson GB, Mitchel, Jr. EF, Edwards KM, Thapa PB, Ray WA. Early childhood mortality from community-acquired infections. Am J Epidemiol 150(5):517-27, 1999.
Thapa PB, Gideon P, Cost TW, Milam AB, Ray WA. Antidepressants and the risk of falls among nursing home residents. N Engl J Med 339:875-82