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Integrating mental health clinicians into primary care expands access to quality mental health care. In this setting, psychiatric pharmacists provide brief psychotropic medication management in collaboration with the primary care physician.

At VA Healthcare Systems, psychiatric pharmacists manage medications for military Veterans in outpatient clinics. Under a broad scope of practice (including controlled substance prescribing), psychiatric pharmacists meet one-on-one with Veterans to design personalized treatment plans that optimize symptom control while minimizing side effects.

A strong word-of-mouth marketing campaign is the surest way to promote the continued growth of an organization. As an active member, you not only know the value that your membership provides in advancing your career and strengthening your profession, but you are also in daily contact with a wealth of prospective members at your job and through your network of professional colleagues.

Psychiatric clinical pharmacists are integrated in a multidisciplinary model of care to provide expertise on psychotropic medications and optimize pharmacotherapy in a variety of mental health conditions. By leading medication education groups, pharmacists can connect with their patients and discuss important medication pearls to improve adherence and decrease adverse events.

Psychiatric pharmacists can be involved in a number of clinical services involving therapy modification that is stated within a collaborative practice agreement with a physician. This may include initiating/monitoring/continuing/adjusting medications, injection services, device management, side effect management, and laboratory follow-up. These models can align incentives for patients, providers and payors that improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

Pharmacists practice forensic pharmacy when they care for patients with psychiatric diagnoses who have also been convicted or charged with a crime. The practice settings often include county jails, or state/federal prisons/hospitals or correctional facilities.

We at AAPP envision a world where all individuals living with mental illness receive safe, appropriate, and effective treatment. Our mission is to advance the reach and practice of psychiatric pharmacy and serve as the voice of the specialty. While striving to achieve our mission, we live by the following values:

Collaborative practice agreements permit clinical pharmacists to provide expanded healthcare services to patients. Learn more in this 11-minute video.

Approximately 60% of depression is treated in the primary care setting. Psychiatric pharmacists can utilize their knowledge and training to assist primary care providers in treating mental illness. Watch this video to learn more.

Consider referring patients to Mental Health America (MHA) for mental health support. Explore the MHA website to view available resources!

How about some trivia? How many meetings does a chapter need to hold each year to maintain its status as a recognized AAPP collegiate chapter? The answer to this and many other chapter requirements can be found in the Student Chapter Formation Manual from the Student Chapter Hub.

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.

"While working with the inpatient unit, I learned more about the transition of care to our outpatient Women's Mood Disorder clinic, the site for my ambulatory rotation during residency. My residency program director coordinated with the attending physician who oversaw the clinic, and I was immediately acknowledged as a member of the team. I was the first pharmacist to practice in this setting, which was a valuable experience in and of itself.

Mental illness and substance use disorders are common in correctional populations. Watch this video to learn about a psychiatric pharmacist's role in correctional healthcare.

Substance use disorders are highly prevalent among patients with mental health conditions. Troy Moore, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPP shares his experience in the management of substance use disorders within the Veterans Health Administration.

The National Institute of Mental Health is an excellent resource for broshures and fact sheets on mental health disorders for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. Printed materials can even be ordered free of charge!

Psychiatric and neurologic illnesses are highly prevalent and are often suboptimally treated. Pharmacists who focus on psychiatric and neurologic diseases improve outcomes for patients with these conditions. This is important in the current health care environment as most patients with psychiatric or neurologic conditions continue to have unmet needs. Read this MHC article to learn more about the value of psychiatric and neurologic pharmacists as part of the health care team.

These freely accessible resources include talking points on what psychiatric pharmacists do for patients and how they care for patients, where to locate a psychiatric pharmacist, consumer tools on common topics, and medication fact sheets.