Psychotropic stewardship: Advancing patient care.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Psychiatry
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPPs) are integral to multidisciplinary healthcare teams in various settings.
• The American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) advocates for psychotropic stewardship programs (PSPs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To promote the safe, appropriate, and optimized use of psychotropic medications.
• To establish a framework for implementing site-specific PSPs.
• To achieve regulatory recognition of PSPs as a standard of care.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging standards from antimicrobial stewardship programs.
• Tailoring PSP implementation to specific practice site needs, patient populations, and resources.
• Prioritizing patients with polypharmacy, high-risk psychotropics, or comorbid conditions for initial PSP engagement.

Main Results:

• PSPs enhance medication treatment plan review and optimization.
• Site-specific needs drive the creation and implementation of PSPs.
• Clinical practice-related core outcomes facilitate program optimization and recognition.

Conclusions:

• PSPs, led by psychiatric pharmacists, are crucial for improving patient outcomes in psychiatric and substance use disorder care.
• Patient-centered approaches integrating patient preferences are essential for PSP success.
• The ultimate goal is the official recognition of PSPs as a standard of care by regulatory agencies.