Integrating a mental health clinical pharmacy specialist into the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams.
Ment Health Clin
; 8(4): 169-174, 2018 Jul.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30155391
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
To address the complex needs of the homeless veteran population, the US Department of Veterans Affairs created the Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (H-PACT) model. The South Texas Veterans Health Care System has an established H-PACT model, however it does not include a clinical pharmacy specialist in mental health (MH).METHODS:
An H-PACT MH pharmacy resident clinic was created and managed by a postgraduate year-2 psychiatric pharmacy resident. Improvements in access to MH care, Veterans Health Administration performance metrics, and estimated cost savings associated with resident interventions were reviewed to evaluate clinic utility.RESULTS:
Over the 6-month clinic time frame, there were a total of 40 patient encounters in which 21 veterans had MH medication evaluation on at least 1 occasion. The average wait time for Veterans previously followed by the H-PACT psychiatrist was approximately 8 weeks. The H-PACT MH pharmacy resident clinic enabled veterans to be evaluated every 4 to 6 weeks. Interventions made by the resident included identification of medication administration errors, medication adjustments, adherence education, reduction in polypharmacy, and referral to other services. Estimated cost savings from clinic interventions totaled $33 613.67.DISCUSSION:
The H-PACT MH pharmacy resident clinic allowed for an improvement in wait time for psychiatric pharmacotherapy follow-up for homeless veterans, with interventions that were associated with significant estimated cost savings.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ment Health Clin
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article