Welcome to the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists' (AAPP) best practice model for outpatient psychiatric pharmacy practice. This is the first best practice model prepared by AAPP. Its objectives are twofold. The first is to assist psychiatric pharmacists who are currently practicing in an outpatient setting to improve their current practice. The second is to serve as a starting point to assist psychiatric pharmacists who are starting a new outpatient practice as a starting guide. This model is intended for use by all psychiatric pharmacists, regardless of their practice experience.
Recognizing that outpatient psychiatric pharmacist practices vary and provide care to a variety of mental health and substance use disorders, and utilize many different treatment methods for providing care, this model is designed to assist practitioners to meet a set of 28 attribute statements for outpatient psychiatric pharmacy practice endorsed by AAPP. The statements and supporting narratives can be found in the appendix at the end of this guide. The statements are the result of years of input from AAPP members as well as external review by collaborating healthcare professionals. In utilizing this model to develop or improve an outpatient practice, it will help the specialty to demonstrate a more consistent model of care that can be promoted to other healthcare providers and policymakers, and make advocating for our specialty that much clearer and easier. The Best Practice model also aligns with other AAPP initiatives to utilize a standard set of core outcomes for practices to utilize when evaluating their individual practices.
The hope is that this model and implementation guide are useful in the development and improvement of all outpatient psychiatric pharmacy practices.
Thank you,
The AAPP Outpatient Psychiatric Pharmacy Best Practice Model Task Force
Given the breadth of this guide, it is important to gather feedback from the field. Please note any omissions, gaps, or areas for improvement. You can then submit that feedback at your leisure, and you can even upload a PDF with comments!
A 2019 survey identified significant variability of practice characteristics among outpatient psychiatric pharmacists (OPPs), including prescriptive authority. In response to this variability, AAPP launched a project to build consensus and develop practice model statements for psychiatric pharmacists providing direct care in an outpatient setting. Consensus around these attributes will promote a best practice model for consistent, effective care provided by OPPs.
