“What You Should Expect from Your Pharmacist - A Guide for Patients and Families” Now Available

Michael Z. Wincor, PharmD, BCPP
Member, CPNP Foundation

The CPNP Foundation Board is pleased to announce the completion and availability of the What You Should Expect from Your Pharmacist - A Guide for Patients and Families. The origins of this Guide date back to the Foundation’s research led by Glen L. Stimmel, PharmD and Charlie Caley, PharmD, BCPP which was conducted in 2012. That project, entitled “Characterizing the Relationship between Individuals with Mental Health Conditions and Community Pharmacists,” was done in collaboration with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

The results documented many positive contributions of community pharmacists and also identified opportunities for these pharmacists to assist those living with neuropsychiatric conditions to achieve better clinical outcomes. Individuals without a strong therapeutic relationship with their community pharmacist often miss the opportunity to benefit from the professional services that pharmacists can offer. Foundation members believe that this problem is compounded by patients’ lack of understanding about what level of services they should expect from their pharmacist. Consequently, the Guide is designed to describe for individuals with psychiatric and neurologic disorders and their families and caregivers what they should expect from their pharmacies and pharmacists.  It is designed to be concise, but comprehensive, with easy to understand guidelines accompanied by related graphics.

The guide was initially developed by a Foundation Board workgroup consisting of Martie Fankhauser (lead), Glen Stimmel, and Brandy Singer, and completed by a subsequent workgroup consisting of members Michael Wincor (lead), Patrick Finley, Brandy Singer, and Glen Stimmel (consultant), with substantial assistance from CPNP staff members Brenda Schimenti and Kelly Riley and from the other members of the Foundation Board. As part of the development process, drafts of the Guide were shared with NAMI, the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, and the National Community Pharmacists Association for input and feedback.

The Guide suggests to patients and families that pharmacists should:

• Treat them with respect.
• Provide a private and confidential setting to discuss their medications with them.
• Establish an ongoing professional relationship with them.
• Teach them how to use prescription and over the counter medications, vitamins, and supplements.
• Provide them information about the benefits and potential side effects of their medications.
• Answer their questions about medications, insurance benefits, and other health concerns.
• Help them to understand information in medication handouts and online resources.
• Explain the reasons for taking their medications as prescribed or recommended.
• Work with other health care professionals to solve potential or real concerns regarding their medications.
• Work with them on an ongoing basis to re-evaluate their medication needs based on treatment response.

The CPNP Foundation Board encourages all CPNP members to utilize the Guide and to share it with patients, families, caregivers, and other health professionals involved in the care of patients with psychiatric and neurologic disorders.

The Guide can be accessed on the Foundation’s new website at cpnpf.org and also from the Mental Health Pharmacy Directory website (mentalhealthpharmacies.com) under Patients and Families. The Foundation will work collaboratively with advocacy groups to ensure that individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders and their families have access to the Guide.