Psychiatric pharmacy specialty practice

This article presents opportunities in psychiatric pharmacy, provides examples of model practice settings, discusses the impact of psychiatric pharmacy on health outcomes, reviews the tools used by specialty practitioners, and discusses networking opportunities in psychiatric pharmacy specialty practice. 

Certification programs formally confirm that an individual has successfully met the standards set by the organization (association) for a particular practice or area of specialty. For example, the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) certifies that a pharmacist has demonstrated an advanced level of education, experience, knowledge, and skills in one of five specialty areas nuclear pharmacy, nutrition support, oncology pharmacy, pharmacotherapy, and psychiatric pharmacy. 

BPS has recognized five specialty practice areas. They are 1) nuclear pharmacy (1978) 2) nutrition support pharmacy (1988) 3) pharmacotherapy (1988) 4) psychiatric pharmacy (1992) and. 3) oncology pharmacy (1996). 

The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia Committee of Specialty Practice in Psychiatric Pharmacy. SHPA standards of practice for psychiatric pharmacy. Aust. J. Hosp. Pharm. 2000, 30, 292-299. 

Psychiatric pharmacy practice is a rewarding specialty with diverse opportunities to have an impact on the care of patients directly through innovative practice models, quality assurance, and patient education, and indirectly through professional education, the development of treatment guidelines, clinical research, and careers in the pharmaceutical industryj ... 

Given the high prevalence of psychiatric illness and specialized expertise required for successful pharmacy practice, it makes sense that psychiatric pharmacy has become one of the five specialty practice areas certified by the U.S. Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. As of December 2001, there were 387 certified psychiatric pharmacy specialists."" The certification process started in 1990, when a coalition of educators and practitioners identified a need to define the specialized knowledge and skills required to function as a competent psychiatric pharmacy specialist.The coalition s petition was sponsored by the ASHP and the first examination took place in December 1996. 

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