Moderator: Daniel Blaney-Koen, JD, Senior Legislative Attorney, American Medical Association, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board

CE Certified By: AMA,AAFP,ACPE,ANCC,APA,NAADAC,NASW,NBCC

Pharmacists are often an underutilized healthcare resource despite their medication expertise and accessibility. Pharmacists are essential healthcare providers who are trained to recognize opioid overdose, opioid use disorder and withdrawal syndromes. Integration of the pharmacist into medication assisted treatment (MAT) teams for opioid use disorders can help improve access and outcomes, while reducing the risk of relapse. When pharmacists partner with prescribers to provide MAT, pharmacists are able to take the lead in developing treatment plans, communicating with patients, improving adherence, monitoring patients, identifying treatment options and performing tasks to alleviate prescriber burden.

This session will demonstrate three different practice settings where psychiatric pharmacists partner with prescribers to provide care collaboratively for patients with substance use disorders. Participants will gain knowledge of innovative ways to include pharmacists on the MAT interprofessional team and how to design and execute effective practice protocols. This presentation is provided in collaboration with the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists.

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Identify the unique training and traits pharmacists bring to the interprofessional treatment team caring for patients with substance use disorders.
- Describe the barriers and benefits encountered in establishing a collaborative practice agreement with prescribers to provide medication assisted treatment.
- Compare outcomes from collaborations integrating pharmacists in the medication assisted treatment care team in different practice settings across the United States.