For the past 4 years, AAPP has dedicated a tremendous amount of volunteer and staff resources to our Outcomes Initiative. The primary goal of the Outcomes Initiative is to increase demand for BCPPs by developing tools and by supporting research that demonstrates the value of BCPPs via evidence. As others begin to see the impact of BCPPs, they raise other complex questions about how they can be integrated and how many are needed.
Figure: Outcomes Initiative 1,000 Foot View
The newest additions to our arsenal of evidence are 2 papers published in the recent edition of Mental Health Clinician that help address the question of the ideal patient volume for BCPPs in various settings. You can read even more about these papers in blog posts created by lead authors and members Samantha Catanzano and Kelly Lee.
- Evaluation of workload among Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists in the United States: Administrators make staffing decisions daily that impact the care team. Determining an ideal panel size for providers is important as it leads to patient satisfaction, predicts patient demand, defines workload, and improves clinical and monetary outcomes. This survey of BCPPs quantifies the typical and ideal workloads of BCPPs and characterizes their practice settings and clinical activities. The results provide a benchmark for use by those involved in practice improvement.
- Evaluation of burnout among Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists in the United States: Understanding and reducing burnout in the pharmacy profession has been a focus of AAPP and other national pharmacy associations. This survey of BCPPs evaluates drivers of burnout and compares current levels of burnout with other specialties and professions. While pharmacists tend to exhibit higher exhaustion than other professions, psychiatric pharmacists reported more satisfied and less exhausted than other pharmacists.
These papers are another contribution to a significant volume of resources created by a web of task forces, committees, and staff over the past 4 years. Many of these are linked below and you can find most of those resources in the “practice” menu on the web site.
- Standardizing Outcomes: COS-PP toolkit.
- Increasing Research Through Training: Clinical Research Toolkit.
- Providing Funding, including our 2025 Outcomes Grant, and the Practice Expansion Grant, applications due 10/1
- Other Important Integrated Initiatives, including the Employer Resource Center, Organizational Papers, and the Ambassador Program supporting presentations at interprofessional conferences to increase awareness of how to integrate psychiatric pharmacists.
It is crucial for all of us pull together to get the most mileage we can out of these efforts. These documents, resources, tools, and research opportunities will have a greater impact if you:
- Use them to inform your efforts
- Share them broadly with all stakeholders from employers, to payers, to legislators, to other health professionals, and other policy makers
- Publish your own results using the structures and tools recommended
As always, we welcome your feedback at board@aapp.org or to Executive Director Brenda Schimenti at bschimenti@aapp.org and your volunteerism toward future efforts. Have a great August!