Community Mental Health Pharmacy

Community Mental Health Pharmacy is one more practice setting that pharmacy technicians work in.

Most community mental health pharmacies are closed-door pharmacies, similar to long-term care pharmacies.

But in this case, pharmacies in community mental health are open to the patients receiving medical care and social services help in these centers.

The customers at these pharmacies are both patients, and the people who are caregivers for the patients.

These pharmacies also put up medications for patients in inpatient settings, such as state-run psychiatric facilities.

The medications prepared for those facilities are put up in “bingo” cards. These "bingo" cards contain medication that has been sealed in what looks like a bingo card. Each day, the medication in the bingo cards can be dispensed by a registered nurse. The cards may have a 30-day supply of medication and tablets, capsules, and caplets can all be packaged this way.

Most community mental health pharmacies are on a much smaller scale than community retail pharmacy settings, with a focus on psychiatric medications. These pharmacies also carry other common medications, but don’t have the volume or the inventory of these other medications that a community retail setting could have.

One example of a mental health pharmacy is Genoa Healthcare.  From Genoa's website, "Dedicated to serving the needs of those in the behavioral health and addiction treatment communities, and others who have complex, chronic health conditions, Genoa Healthcare is the largest provider of pharmacy, outpatient telepsychiatry and medication management services."("Genoa Healthcare | A Leading Pharmacy & Telepsychiatry Provider", 2020)

The population of individuals receiving mental health and substance use/abuse/recovery treatment seems to be especially vulnerable.  It takes people with compassion, tact, empathy to work in this field, however, workers in this field directly impact the mentally ill and those battling addictions in a very positive way.  Often the relationships that are developed are vitally important and even quite therapeutic.

References

Genoa Healthcare | A Leading Pharmacy & Telepsychiatry Provider. (2020). Retrieved 20 October 2020, from https://www.genoahealthcare.com/



Back to Home

New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.
[?]Subscribe To This Site
  • XML RSS
  • follow us in feedly
  • Add to My Yahoo!