Carla Cobb, PharmD, BCPP-Chair, Professional Affairs Task Force
The number of psychiatric pharmacists has grown steadily for more than twenty years, and that growth has provided some visibility on the national stage. CPNP has joined multiple professional coalitions as it works to illuminate the unique challenges faced by patients living with mental, neurologic, and substance use disorders and the unique value that psychiatric pharmacists bring to the health care team. The focus has been on expanding reach, making our voice heard, and earning a seat at the table.
The Professional Affairs Task Force has spent the past year implementing a plan for promoting the psychiatric pharmacy specialist. The first phase is focused on creating clear and concise language to introduce legislators and other health care professionals to what psychiatric pharmacists do. An infographic is now available, and a series of practice profiles will be released in April-June. The initial profile of Dr. Seth Gomez will highlight the role psychiatric pharmacists can play in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and addressing the opioid crisis. Other planned profiles will focus on inpatient, outpatient, VA, and primary care settings.
You can view the infographic and monitor the progress of our professional affairs effort at cpnp.org/psychpharm. More is yet to come, but we want to make this infographic available to members today! Print off copies or share the link. Use it to introduce the specialty to students, PGY1 residents, administrators, legislators, and anyone else who indicates that they have not heard about psychiatric pharmacists.
The next phase of our professional affairs initiatives is still being planned, based in part on our advocacy experiences and on your responses to various surveys about your professional needs. However, work has already begun on two evidence-based position papers that will present the existing research relating to the value of psychiatric pharmacists and then provide a vision of how psychiatric pharmacists fit in the current mental health care landscape.
If you have suggestions for improving these resources or developing other resources for professional affairs, please email your feedback to info@cpnp.org.
