The COS-PP toolkit is intended to provide guidance and support for research related to psychiatric pharmacist impact. Students, residents, pharmacists, and faculty can use the COS-PP to help design clinical trials. Utilization of a unified core outcome set will ultimately benefit the patients by providing robust evidence of the value of having psychiatric pharmacists on the team to improve access to care, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. The benefits of the COS-PP also extend to other healthcare providers through demonstrating improved patient outcomes, improved access to care as psychiatric pharmacists increase the capacity of the health care team, and provider satisfaction reducing burnout and turnover. It benefits payers by providing clear evidence of the value of psychiatric pharmacists on the team - improving patient access to care, quality of care, team satisfaction, and health care costs.
Psychiatric pharmacists are uniquely trained to provide valuable knowledge in the management of psychiatric disorders and are an integral medication expert within team-based care. However, previous work by AAPP assessing best practices and reviewing the literature has noted a paucity of data demonstrating the value of psychiatric pharmacists on the health care team. Although there are a few well designed studies published, it has been challenging to aggregate the results due to significant variations in practice and innovation over the last 40 years. (Werremeyer, Goldstone) Existing studies are inconsistent in the outcome measures examined, most lack statistical significance, and there are few attempts to replicate promising outcomes. In order to justify expansion of clinical services and the creation of psychiatric pharmacist positions to enhance patient care, publications must clearly demonstrate the contribution of psychiatric pharmacists to the healthcare team and their impact on meaningful outcomes. This data is necessary to show payers, legislators, and administrators how psychiatric pharmacists improve the quadruple health care aim of better care, reduced cost, improved patient experience, and provider well-being. Following an extensive review of the existing literature describing psychiatric pharmacy practice and the impact of a psychiatric pharmacist on the quadruple aim, (Werremeyer) AAPP developed a consensus-based set of outcomes and measures to improve research standardization. The measures in this Core Outcome Set for Psychiatric Pharmacists (COS-PP) are intended to be utilized to study the impact of psychiatric pharmacists in caring for individuals living with psychiatric disorders through consistent, measurable, reportable, and reproducible population specific outcomes that are primarily medication-related. (Manuscript Forthcoming) While this is not an exclusive list, it does support gaps identified in the literature.
