Mental Health & the Importance of Medication Adherence | RxSafe Podcast Series

Synopsis: Major psychiatric disorders are a growing public health concern that attributed to 14% of the global burden of diseases. The management of major psychiatric disorders is challenging mainly due to medication non-adherence. There seems to be a scarcity of summarized evidence on the prevalence of psychotropic medication non-adherence and associated factors. Psychiatric disorders have been a global public health challenge. Almost 450 million people are affected by psychiatric disorders worldwide.  Psychiatric disorders cost approximately $2.5 trillion dollars in 2010 and are expected to rise up to $6.0 trillion by 2030. Mental health disorders are surprisingly common in the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental health illness, that’s 51.5 million people in 2019. Mental illnesses include many different conditions that vary in degree of severity, ranging from mild to moderate to severe. Lost resources and production, unemployment, absences from work, and premature death are some of the indirect economic costs. Therefore, we’re excited to discuss this important topic today with three Pharmacist’s focused on Mental Health in their communities and practices. Tyler Young RPh, is the lead pharmacist with Hines Prescription Shop, a locally-owned pharmacy in Barnesville, Georgia. Tyler helps hundreds of patients become more compliant with their medications by making it simpler with RxSafe Adherence packaging. Dr. Thomas McDowell, PharmD, is the owner of McDowell’s Pharmacy in North Carolina. Thomas and I have been on several panel discussions in the past, both LIVE in person, and on Zoom. We value Thomas’s insights & look forward to his experiences helping patients with mental health conditions. Dr. Monica Krishnan, PharmD, is a clinical pharmacist with a practice of over 18 years. She began her career as a inpatient critical care pharmacist at UCLA medical center in 2002. After starting a family and suffering the loss of her husband at a young age, Dr Monica switched paths and joined the field of community pharmacy. Monica is a personal friend of mine, a member of the Pharmacy Podcast Network leading our ‘Pharmacists Focused on Mental Health’ podcast and currently works with the Walmart Health & Wellness team in Los Angeles. Dr. Monica plans to continue to spread awareness and education on mental health and hopes to continue working and collaborating with other mental health advocates. She has an incredibly active Instagram which is focused on mental health advocacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices