Clinical Pharmacist Interventions on an Assertive Community Treatment Team

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a community-based treatment approach intended to help in the recovery and rehabilitation of clients with severe and persistent mental illnesses. A clinical pharmacist is not routinely a member of an ACT team. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of a pharmacist by reviewing recommendations and interventions made by a clinical pharmacist on an ACT team. Information was gathered through a chart review of clients at Community Alternatives in St. Louis, Missouri. All recommendations and interventions performed by the clinical pharmacist between February 1, 2008 and July 31, 2008 were recorded. A total of 341 interventions and recommendations for 29 clients were completed by the pharmacist. Medication management, medication adjustment recommendations, and mental health assessments were the most frequent interventions. This study suggests a clinical pharmacist can be beneficial to an ACT team and provide diverse services to both clients and other team members.