The Mental Health Clinician, May 2012 (Vol. 1, Iss. 11)

Geropsychiatry

This month’s theme of the Mental Health Clinician is geropsychiatry. The number of people in the U.S. over the age of 65 years is expected to double and those over the age of 85 years is expected to increase five-fold.^1,2 The majority of older adults suffer from at least one chronic disease and 90% take at least one chronic medication daily.³ The average community older adult takes at least 3 medications on average. Residents in long-term care settings have even higher medication use rates. It is also reported that adherence with medication regimens is poor, and this is often due to adverse events. The impact that pharmacists can have on assuring rational pharmacotherapy, improving adherence, and reducing adverse events in the elderly is immense. Read the full editorial.

Next Month: Review of Annual Meeting

The 15th Annual CPNP Meeting which took place April 29th through May 2nd at the Tampa Marriott Waterside in Tampa, Florida hosted a record-breaking 500+ attendees. This meeting was full of wonderful and innovative programming and networking opportunities that inspired CPNP members to improve their psychiatric and neurologic pharmacy practices. The issue will recap and highlight some of the topics covered at the meeting. We will feature articles from some of the Annual Meeting speakers with additional insights and commentary as well as articles by other experts in our field.

Articles in this Issue

Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Dementia This article aims to give clinicians an overview of the controversy, discuss treatment guidelines in treating NPS.
Donepezil 23 mg: Is it More Advantageous Compared to the Original? After its arrival in 1996, donepezil soon became a blockbuster drug, as its safety and ease of administration greatly surpassed the first acetylcholinesterase inhibitor available in the United States, tacrine (Cognex®).
Dosing of Valproate in an Elderly Population With Dementia: Evaluation of Discontinuations and Dose Reductions There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications for the BPSD.
Spotlight on a Geriatric, Long-Term Care Practice Cindy Thomas answers questions about her practice site.
Spotlight on a Consultant Pharmacist Practice Mark Dewey explains his practice site.
The “Improving Antipsychotic Appropriateness in Dementia Patients” Clinical Tools and Training Program The Iowa Geriatric Education Center is pleased to announce a new training program and toolkit to improve antipsychotic appropriateness in dementia patients.
Ginkgo Biloba and Vitamin E for Alzheimer’s Disease An estimated 35 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s disease, with over 5 million people affected in the United States alone.
Psychopharmacology Concerns in Older Individuals As adults age, they develop additional medical concerns, such that four in five elderly patients have at least one chronic illness.

CPNP News, Announcements and Resources

Annual Meeting Energizes and Educates Another successful Annual Meeting has come and gone.
How to Prevent Adverse Drug Events: Enhanced Awareness, Vigilant Monitoring Can Reduce Morbidity and Mortality Although many factors are beyond the prescribing clinician’s control, ADEs can be substantially reduced.
CPNP Contracts with Government Affairs Consultant CPNP is pleased to announce the contracting of Carey Potter as our first government affairs consultant.
Book Review: Clinical Handbook of Psychotropic Drugs, 19th revised edition This handbook has become a standard reference and practical tool for psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, physicians, and all mental health professionals.
May 2012 Member News Vicki Ellingrod and Ray Love have exciting news.
Movie Review of Take Shelter Students and professor review Take Shelter.
2012 Annual Meeting Makes an Impression The 15th Annual Meeting of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists was held April 29-May 2, 2012 in sunny Tampa, Florida.

College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists