Mental Health and Addictions

There has never been a greater need to provide support for those battling mental health concerns and drug or alcohol addictions.

As the most accessible healthcare providers, pharmacists are often on the frontline of managing treatment for this vulnerable population. At Wellness Pharmacy, we know that we can have a major impact on these patients’ health outcomes. Our services and programs are designed with the goal to be there for patients struggling with mental health and addiction problems to educate and equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to manage and improve their own health.

Our Pharmacy Home Monitoring Program provides professional in-home clinical care for patients with mental health and addiction challenges. Our services include:

• Daily in-home monitoring by a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
• Maintaining patient medication tracking sheets and summary assessments of patient progress
• Individualized therapy for patient convenience and safe medication delivery
• Assistance with medication adherence through daily witnessed ingestion, weekly or monthly blister packs, and refill reminders
• On-going communication with the healthcare team and caregiver – All relevant issues are communicated to the physician, case manager and/or patient’s primary caregiver for prompt resolution. Examples of these include:
  • Patient cheeking or refusing medications
  • Patient not at home upon repeated delivery or not opening door
  • Drug interaction identified in prescribed medication therapy

We recognize that medications are still needed, even on holidays, and have dedicated nurses and pharmacists who provide medication delivery and administration 365 days a year.

Opioid Agonist Treatment

Our pharmacists are trained to provide comprehensive Opioid Agonist Treatments (Methadone, Suboxone and Kadian) to patients with addictions right in the pharmacy, or if the physician has requested a home witness, our pharmacists will visit the patient’s home. Through this program, our pharmacists:

• Monitor opioid and other substance dependence
• Dispense and witness self-administration of opioid agonist treatment
• Monitor and report opioid agonist treatment dosing issues to minimize diversion
• Ensure continuity of care when patients are hospitalized or incarcerated
• Monitor and detect adverse effects, toxicity, overdose and withdrawal
• Monitor and detect drug interactions involving opioid agonist treatment
• Provide maintenance under special circumstances such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, hepatic and renal impairment, and HIV/AIDS
• Provide immediate updates to physicians when doses are missed or when there are any concerns related to the patient’s treatment