The integration of behavioral health pharmacy services in primary care not only increases access to brief and effective mental health care, but it also provides a practical and valid method to address psychotropic medication management need for patients with mild to moderate mental health disorders (Pomerantz et al, 2008). This level of integration also bridges the gap between primary care and psychiatry (Silvia, RJ, 2014). With about 80% of all psychotropic medication being prescribed in primary care and about 90% of benzodiazepines being prescribed in this context as well (Olfson, et al, 2019), it is imperative to find new ways of increasing awareness of best use of these medication for a variety of different diagnoses. Furbish and colleagues in their 2017 study found that a pharmacist-physician collaboration lead to lower rates of benzodiazepine prescriptions for both anxiety and insomnia diagnoses, we are interested to see if we found the same through an integrated care model approach.
Alexis Berenato, Program Manager, Integrated Behavioral Health, Jefferson University Health System Alexis Berenato