News and Insights for Psychiatric Pharmacists

Through expert guidance, participants will refine their presentation skills and learn how to captivate audiences. This 2-hour program with ACPE credit provides a unique opportunity to gain practical tools to elevate speaking abilities, enhance your expertise and confidence, and make you a standout voice in the field of psychiatric pharmacy. Don't miss this opportunity to learn!

This study examined purity of fentanyl samples and estimated the typical daily oral milligrams of morphine equivalent (MME).

This FREE 4-hour course translates the Joint Clinical Practice Guideline on Benzodiazepine Tapering into practical strategies for safer tapering. The course includes interactive, case-based activities centered on real-world clinical scenarios to help learners practice guideline implementation across diverse populations. It offers 4 hours of ACPE credit and is available until 5/19/2029.

Calling all psychiatric pharmacist rising stars. Nominate yourself or others for the AAPP Early Practitioner Award designed to recognize future leaders within AAPP and Psychiatric Pharmacy. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

Expand availability to clozapine for those living with schizophrenia. Register now for the CURESZ Foundation Clozapine Panel!

This Pharmacist Toolkit on Addressing Stimulant Shortages is intended to provide an evidence-based guide for thoughtfully converting from one stimulant product formulation to another. Download the toolkit today! #psychpharm #toolkit

Dr. Allison Beatty, PharmD, BCPP, explains how to establish an LAI clinic.

Advancing Patient Care Award application window is now open. Let’s recognize excellence in increasing patient access to high quality mental health care.

AAPP's Psychotropic LAI Training Program is back and full of updates! This grant-funded educational activity is offered complimentary and includes access to 6 webinars and LAI resources like a pocket-guide, administration videos, and more. Register today and help us share this program with others that would find it valuable.

Learn all about naltrexone and buprenorphine, two substance use disorder long-acting injectables, in this complimentary program! This is one of six modules in our Psychotropic LAI Training Program. Register today and get access to the full program and LAI resources.

Mark your calendars for this upcoming webinar: "Pharmacists Must Lead Again: Making Clozapine TDM Standard Practice" which is available for free to all members. Register now!

This program provides pharmacists with updates on targeted immunologic therapies. Listen to expert-led discussions on disease pathophysiology, managing adverse effects, and promoting patient adherence in chronic and relapsing neurological conditions.

As I write my first presidential column, I find myself reflecting on the journey that brought me to this role—the patients during my APPE at the San Antonio State Hospital who opened my eyes to why psychiatric pharmacy matters, the mentors who challenged and inspired me as a student, resident, and throughout my career, and the dedicated volunteers and staff who make AAPP's work possible. All of these experiences have taught me that progress is bigger than one person and that we build on the work of those who have come before and those working alongside us to move the profession forward.

These results add to a growing body of evidence that CB1 neutral antagonists can attenuate the rewarding properties of opioids while sparing their therapeutically desirable antinociceptive effects, providing support for further investigation of CB1 neutral antagonists as possible treatments for OUD.

In this study estimating the effects of reducing federal funding for SSPs, the findings suggest that mortality will increase among persons who inject drugs during the 5 years after loss of funding.

Psychotherapy, including cognitive behavior therapy and motivational interviewing, offers short-term benefits; however, its long-term effectiveness is uncertain.

Adults with CUD seem to receive less stigma compared to adolescents with CUD, while stigmatizing attributions are produced less often when people have more contact with cannabis use and CUD.

In this study of hospitalized adults with OUD, treatment of opioid withdrawal with short-acting opioids exhibited a dose-dependent association with reduced hazard of early patient-directed discharge.

Very low certainty evidence suggests that, among people with opioid use disorder who have undergone withdrawal and wish to remain abstinent, a substantial percentage are willing to initiate naltrexone with marked early discontinuation.

Electronic screening alerts coupled with provider education increased the provision of medications for adolescents at risk for opioid-related harm.

Alcohol consumption, including at what may be perceived as “moderate” levels, is associated with increased mortality and morbidity risks.

The mock exam is composed of 150 questions based on the content domains and knowledge statements included in the BPS content outline. Register today and practice, practice, practice!

Help AAPP recognize excellence in patient care through your nomination for the Advancing Patient Care award recognizing individual member efforts and accomplishments in increasing patient access to high quality mental health care in exceptional and distinctive ways. Nominations close 10/1/2026.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is taking steps to temporarily ban supplements containing a synthetic version of kratom. The agency said it plans to classify an addictive psychoactive compound called 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, in the same category as heroin and LSD — drugs that are illegal to buy or sell. This temporary scheduling action does not apply to botanical kratom products that contain naturally occurring 7-OH below the specified threshold. Instead, it targets synthesized products and those containing elevated concentrations of 7-OH as outlined in the temporary scheduling order. DEA believes these substances pose an imminent threat to public safety given their effects are highly unpredictable. Once the temporary scheduling orders take effect, the manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession of covered 7-OH substances will become subject to criminal, civil, and administrative provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.

These findings provide important reassurance regarding the safety of indicated paracetamol use during pregnancy.

Meetings are a cornerstone of effective leadership, collaboration, and decision-making, yet many professionals receive little formal training. This 3-part, live virtual workshop will fill the knowledge gap and improve your skills! The workshop is limited to 20 learners, and seats are filling up. Learn more and register today!

Stream this expert-led discussion on the expanding role of digital therapeutics in treating mental health conditions. Watch the recording and stay ahead in this fast-evolving field! Visit the course page to watch the webinar or learn more and register.

Avoiding difficult conversations can lead to stress, reduced engagement, and low morale. Dr. Maria Blaze shares important tips to help you navigate.

There are 50 Pharmacy schools across the country that have AAPP Student Chapters, and more are joining every year! Check out the AAPP website for a list of existing chapters. Think about reaching out to a nearby chapter to collaborate on an upcoming activity, or for ideas on activities that could be done within your own organization.

Learn how psychiatric pharmacists implementing psychotropic stewardship in youth increases safety, follow up, and coordination of care while reducing health care costs.

Learn all about Antipsychotic Long-Acting Injectable Adverse Effects, Mitigation Strategies, and Monitoring! This is one of six modules in our complimentary Psychotropic LAI Training Program. Register today and get access to the full program and LAI resources.

The Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP) recently convened national pharmacy organization leaders, including AAPP Incoming President Suzie Harris and Executive Director Brenda Schimenti, for a full day meeting focused on “Increasing Access and Improving Patient Care Outcomes with Technology” to examine how technology, policy, and communication can be leveraged to strengthen patient care across settings. Throughout the day, participants explored real world models and national strategies in three core areas: rural health transformation, health information technology and interoperability, and the critical role of pharmacists as trusted messengers in today’s healthcare environment. The meeting concluded with a structured “Takeaways and Next Steps” discussion, during which participants identified key commitments and areas for follow up work.

Last week, SAMHSA issued an advisory and Dear Colleague letter outlining how pharmacists can support expanded access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). It describes expansive opportunities for pharmacists to integrate MOUD treatment into their practices, support collaborative and team-based care, maintain and expand the ordering of MOUD, and address barriers to providing OUD treatment services in pharmacies. AAPP is working with fellow national pharmacy associations to encourage state pharmacy association leaders to aggressively pursue legislative initiatives in their states to enable expansion in pharmacist MOUD services.

This 2-hour webinar focuses on developing appropriate techniques for answering standardized questions more accurately, identifying common issues in testing that may be hurting your performance, and analyzing your testing performance to improve accuracy, pacing, and endurance. Level up your test-taking skills!

This free collection of essentials provides resources, references, and clinical pearls for practitioners beginning to practice in psychiatry.

Improve your peer review skills! Discover the components to evaluate, the role of the peer reviewer, the skills necessary to critically evaluate a manuscript, and how to provide feedback to authors and journal editors.

A new study in JAMA tracking nearly 28,500 opioid overdose survivors found that 8.6% died and 21.2% had another overdose within a year of an emergency department visit.

SAMHSA’s new advisory addresses cannabis use disorder across the lifespan, including during pregnancy.

A landmark trial published in The Lancet found that once-weekly semaglutide, the medication marketed as Ozempic, significantly reduced heavy-drinking days among people with alcohol use disorder and obesity.

H.R.1 will require states to conduct Medicaid eligibility redeterminations for the expansion population every six months beginning in 2027, doubling the current renewal frequency.

Do you want to gain confidence in how you plan, lead, and participate in meetings? If so, this educational program is for you! Earn ACPE credit while you improve your meeting skills during this 3-part, live virtual workshop! This exclusive workshop is limited to just 20 learners, and the first session is Sept. 9. Register now to secure your spot!

This Introductory Guide for Families highlights common experiences of family members who are navigating mental health and/or substance use treatment and recovery supports with their loved ones.

About 1 in 8 young adults ages 18 to 25 have had suicidal thoughts or made plans or attempts to end their life. Among them, white young people are much more likely to access any sort of mental health treatment than their Asian, Black, or Latino peers, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.