UC San Diego

Pharmacist-psychiatrist collaborative clinic models in specialty mental health clinics are limited, and there has been only 1 report of a clinic focused on adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this article, we describe the successful implementation of a pharmacist-psychiatrist collaborative practice agreement in an adult ADHD clinic at an academic medical center. Adult patients diagnosed with ADHD after a comprehensive assessment, including a full neuropsychological evaluation, were enrolled in the collaborative treatment clinic. The collaboration was a partnership between a psychiatry department and a school of pharmacy at a public university. We report the details of 58 patients and 774 patient encounters at the collaborative pharmacist-psychiatrist practice from March 2015 through June 2018. The visits were billed using traditional medical billing codes for follow-up visits. Pharmacist practice opportunities included psychiatric evaluation, medication management, counseling, and referral to auxiliary services. Challenges to the clinic's success included limited pharmacist time, prescriptive authority, and reimbursement for services from payors. A collaborative practice model targeted at adult ADHD patients may be a unique clinic setting for psychiatric pharmacists.