Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists as Part of the Mental Health Team

What is it about?

Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPP) with their specialized training and expertise can play an important role on mental health teams. Including a BCPP on the health care team can help increase access to care and improve patient outcomes in a number of areas including opioid use disorder, long-acting injectables, antipsychotic use in children and adolescents, clozapine use, and transitions of care and care coordination.

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Photo by Total Shape on Unsplash

Photo by Total Shape on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The need for mental health services in the United States continues to grow exponentially despite an already existing shortage of mental health providers. The pandemic has only further exacerbated this gap between need and availability. Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPP) are clinical pharmacists with specialized training and expertise in the area of psychiatric pharmacy. BCPPs work collaboratively with other members of the team to provide medication management monitoring, patient education, and pursuant to scope-of-practice laws, initiate, adjust, and discontinue medication in collaboration with a diagnosing prescriber. Key areas in which BCPPs currently work and could help further improve access and care include opioid use disorder, long-acting injectables, antipsychotic use in children and adolescents, clozapine use, and transitions of care and care coordination. By adding a BCPP to mental health teams, more patients are able to receive safe and effective medication therapy.