Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science
Mental Health Program
Under the direction of Professor Raymond C. Love, PharmD, the Mental Health Program (MHP) has established a 25 year partnership with the Maryland Mental Hygiene Adminstration. The program's primary goals are to improve and maintain pharmacy services in state mental health facilities and to provide pharmacy care services for patients in these facilities. The program also examines the system-wide use of psychotropic medications.
MHP participates in the planning of mental health pharmacy related matters and systems at various levels of state government. This planning has resulted in the introduction of a number of innovations including robotics, participation in group purchasing programs, therapeutic and generic substitution, dose optimization, statewide data tracking, coordinated on-call services and central formulary management. These initiatives not only result in benefit for patients, but yield millions of dollars in annual savings for the State of Maryland.
The nearly 50 PPS staff and faculty in seven adult residential facilities, coordinate and provide comprehensive pharmacy services including clinical, consultative, administrative, dispensing and performance improvement services. MHP pharmacists, including assistant professor Jason Noel, PharmD, throughout Maryland are valuable members of multi-disciplinary teams responsible for the management of patients’ mental health and disease.
MHP trains pharmacy students, prepares PPS Psychiatric Pharmacy Residents and collaborates with the State and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in conducting research to optimize psychiatric pharmacotherapy.
The MHP extends its reach into the community where clinical pharmacist and Assistant Professor Bethany DiPaula, PharmD, provides adherence counseling, medication management and service coordination for patients seeking mental health treatment and addiction assistance, through a partnership with People’s Community Health Centers, Inc. PPS Faculty are also embarking on an initiative to bring pharmacist provided self-management services to patients with depression.