Searching for Solutions

President Jolene Bostwick and Executive Director Brenda Schimenti had the opportunity to discuss the vital role of board-certified psychiatric pharmacists (BCPPs) in integrated care teams. The interview highlights psychiatric pharmacist expertise in comprehensive medication management, the role of collaborative practice agreements, the psychotropic stewardship model, and how psychiatric pharmacists improve outcomes for patients with psychiatric disorders. The interview closes by addressing significant policy barriers, including lack of reimbursement and federal recognition, that limit broader implementation and growth of the profession.

Long-time AAPP member and the current AAPP Foundation President, Clayton English, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP, BCGP, FAAPP, is part of a team of SoP faculty researchers at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy that has been awarded a $200,000 Tier 3 pilot research grant from the UW Population Health Initiative. The team’s work aims to address the rise in opioid overdose deaths, increasingly driven by fentanyl. This work is vital to public health. Help us congratulate Dr. English!

Hawai’i has passed SB 1245, an advancement that will recognize pharmacists as health care providers under Hawai'i law and ensure health plan reimbursement for services they provide within their scope of practice.

Updated Post: AAPP Urges Insurers to Maintain Vaccine Coverage

The Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a summary describing the health care provisions in the law (described as the Senate-passed bill) in four categories: Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

The Lancet Psychiatry - Absolute neutrophil count and adverse drug reaction monitoring during clozapine treatment: consensus guidelines from a global Delphi panel

OIG surveyed behavioral health providers who actively served Medicare and Medicaid patients to assess whether they could make new patient appointments for enrollees in 2023. Some findings of the review include: 1) forty-five percent of surveyed providers reported that they were not available to treat new patients enrolled in traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid managed care, and 2) among the providers who were available to treat new patients enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid, about a quarter reported wait times of more than 30 days for an appointment. This report illustrates that enrollee access to needed behavioral health care is hampered by the inability of active providers to treat new patients.