News and Insights for Psychiatric Pharmacists

Starting soon (4:45 PM Mountain) is the Saklad Memorial Award presentation and the AAPP Forum on Our Future! This event will be livestreamed and is available to anyone with a login at aapp.org. (If you don't have one, create a free account). Join us to honor Dr. Deanna Kelly! #AAPP2025 #psychpharmacy #SLC

Congrats to the PharmD students who received a registration grant to #AAPP2025! #aappfoundation #psychpharmacy

Idea exchanges start at 10:00 AM Mountain! Which one are you attending? Topics include: The Antidepressant Black Box Warning in Youth, Management of Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults, and The Evolving Role of Neurology Clinical Pharmacists #AAPP2025 #psychpharmacy #saltlakecity

The AAPP Foundation is honored to be well represented at the AAPP 2025 Annual Meeting! Check out all of our activities and sponsorships. #aappfoundation #psychpharmacy #aapp2025

Are you a psychiatric pharmacist? Consider filling out the #BCPP job analysis survey to share your perspective on the tasks and knowledge areas important to practicing in psychiatric pharmacy. Complete the survey by May 5: https://www.research.net/r/BCPP25JAS

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!

I volunteer because I want to improve the delivery of mental health services across our communities. I truly believe that pharmacists can be part of this change and that working with AAPP will help us to do so. - Michael Shuman, PharmD, BCPP

T-minus 2 days until the first official day of #AAPP2025! Who's getting excited?! #psychpharmacy #saltlakecity

Read the AAPP Foundation President's Spring 2025 message! #aappfoundation #psychpharmacy

Volunteering on a committee helps me meet Residency Director ASHP standards. It also allows me to bring updated knowledge and information to implement in my facility. - Courtney Iuppa, PharmD, BCPP

Making an LAI clinic profitable! Overcome common barriers when establishing a billing system for LAI administration, create a budget and make an LAI clinic profitable, and evaluate billing metrics and reporting. #LAI

I’m a better psychiatric pharmacist because of this organization. The resources, connections, and opportunities AAPP offers have helped shape my professional journey in countless ways. - Michael McGuire, PharmD, BCPP

AAPP believes the directives of MAHA threatens to worsen health outcomes and reignite stigma toward individuals living with psychiatric disorders. Evidence shows that limiting psychotropic medications will further the mental health crisis.

The Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process (PPCP) is the foundation for the essential care that pharmacists provide to patients on a daily basis. Fifteen national pharmacy organizations have collaborated through the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP) to revise the 2014 PPCP to reflect contemporary pharmacy practice today and into the future. These organizations are now seeking feedback on the revised draft PPCP from pharmacists across the profession to ensure that it is reflective of diverse pharmacy practice settings and the care being delivered. Your voice is important! Please contribute your feedback on or before 2/28 at 5 PM PT, by accessing the draft revised PPCP and a feedback survey. The estimated time to review the draft revised PPCP is 10 minutes, and the feedback survey is estimated to take up to 20 minutes to complete.

Volunteer where you’ll be happiest. Use it to help develop your skills as clinician, teacher, and/or researcher. - Chris Paxos, PharmD, BCPP, BCPS, BCGP

Six industry-supported programs will be livestreamed during AAPP 2025 and are available to everyone with a login to aapp.org! Register now and plan to attend two symposia with ACPE credit and four showcases.

Six industry-supported programs will be livestreamed during AAPP 2025 and are available to everyone with a login to aapp.org! Register now and plan to attend two symposia with ACPE credit and four showcases.

Collaborating professionally with psychiatric pharmacists from across the country on different projects and tasks has led to additional opportunities for learning and growth, including a national publication. - Ashley Maister, BS, PharmD, BCPP

Practice, practice, practice! The 150-question mock exam lets you test your knowledge, pacing, and endurance before sitting for the BCPP certification exam. #BCPP #AAPP #examprep #psychpharmacy

"I was highly motivated to obtain my DEA to improve the efficiency of my workflow and practice with greater independence..." #WIWIK

Free toolkit provides tips and guidance in the following areas of Buprenorphine Initiation: Buprenorphine Treatment, Traditional Buprenorphine Initiation, Low Dose Overlap Initiation, Special Populations, Harm Reduction, Helpful Resources, and References

As psychiatric pharmacists, we pride ourselves in the top-notch patient care that we provide, sometimes even serving as the patient’s main source of contact and primary prescriber. We see ourselves as empathetic and work tirelessly to break down stigma. Every day we go into work and provide compassion to the patients we treat. Sometimes though, we tell our colleagues, friends, and family stories. Stories from our patients that make us laugh or roll our eyes, or stories about our patients – the ones we don’t like because they have [insert mental illness], and we don’t enjoy working with them. Have we ever stopped to think that maybe the person we’re talking to also suffers from that or a similar mental illness?

AAPP and coalition partners are calling on Congress and the Administration to take immediate action to prevent the erosion of ongoing efforts to address the nation’s mental health, suicide, and substance use crises. The statement emphasizes that we share a bipartisan goal of improving the health span of all Americans, including a strong and vigorous workforce, which requires protecting the critical functions of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Thanks to our partnership with Current Psychiatry (CP) published through Quadrant Healthcom Inc., another Savvy Psychopharmacology article was featured in the January 2020 edition of Current Psychiatry. The goal of this section is to present an evidence-based discussion to guide safe, effective prescribing of psychotropic medications. Eva Studer, MD, Tawny L. Smith, PharmD, BCPP, and Smitha Murthy, MD, authored this article on Valproic acid-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy.

BPS is conducting a Job Analysis for the Board-Certified Psychiatric Pharmacy (BCPP) certification program to develop an updated examination content outline, which serves as a blueprint for the certification exam and the scope for recertification and eligibility purposes. Participation is expected to take 15 to 30 minutes and those who complete the survey are eligible for entry into a raffle for one of ten $25 Amazon gift cards.

An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) document signals that the Trump administration may propose cutting Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding by more than 30%, including eliminating key mental health and substance use programs. It’s important to note this document is not final. The official budget is expected in late April or early May, and the appropriations process has to go through Congress. The National Council will continue advocating for critical program funding and will share updates as the process moves forward.

Authored by AAPP member Michael McGuire, PharmD, BCPP.

This workshop April 23-24, 2025, will discuss educational and financial models of HPE programs from around the globe and their value proposition.

The 3/6/25 #JournalClub (1/2) presented "Single-Dose Psilocybin for Depression With Severe Treatment Resistance: An Open-Label Trial." The recording is available free to all AAPP members.

During this complimentary, grant-funded webinar, participants will learn about the potential benefits and drawbacks of available PPD treatments – including newer NAS medications. Register today and earn 1 hour of ACPE credit upon webinar completion.

The Clozapine REMS program has notified all prescribers registered with the system that the clozapine manufacturers have formally replied to the FDA announcement of 2/24/2025.

Exams can be daunting. Let us help! Register for the Developing Effective Test-Taking Skills webinar to sharpen your skills. #BCPP #examprep #psychpharmacy #AAPP

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. We hope you will consider exploring psychiatric and neurological pharmacy for your career.

SUD Scoop Series 2024-25: Join your colleagues during these live-only webinars to dialogue about challenging substance use disorder cases. The last webinar is May 21! Free for AAPP members.

AAPP members Haley Pals, Michelle Colvard and Tera Moore co-authored this study of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who received B-MOUD care in 2023 within the Veterans Health Administration.