Adult Psychiatry
65 million Americans take medications to manage their mental health, and many individuals suffering with complex mental health conditions take a number of medications. Although many individuals may share the same conditions, everyone reacts to medications differently.
As a result, people often try multiple medications before finding a treatment that works.
What is medication management?
Our providers work with patients to understand their mental health and identify other health conditions that could impact their treatment plan. Through regular appointments with your care provider, we monitor the effectiveness of our treatment plan and stay on top of additional challenges or behaviors that may present challenges through the course of your treatment.
Our medication management goals:
- Improve patient’s health literacy and understanding of their treatment plan
- Ensure treatment plan effectiveness
- Prevent medication errors
- Monitor patient progress
- Identify patients risks
- Build strong patient relationships
What mental health conditions medication management can help with, including but not limited to:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Anxiety and panic disorders
- Depression
- Personality Disorders
- Mood disorders (Bipolar I and Bipolar II)
- Schizophrenia
Why do individuals need recurring medication management appointments?
Individuals typically meet with their provider regularly to ensure treatment is effective and side effects are minimal. In the first year of treating a new patient, we typically meet on a monthly basis in order to develop an accurate and well-rounded picture of your mental health and how you respond to treatment. Once we’ve identified that an individual is responding well to treatment and demonstrating progress, we reduce the frequency of appointments — often meeting around four times per year, or every three months.
Regular appointments also allow providers to monitor individuals for adverse side effects. Providers learn about changes in your life or health status that may influence the effectiveness of your prescribed medication. By devoting ample time to monitoring our patients, we’re able to find the best treatment possible.
How is the Gladstone approach to medication management unique?
At Gladstone our providers receive the support they need to provide the highest quality of care. Few care providers devote as much time and attention to patients as we do. Once an effective medication has been identified, many providers in other practices simply have a brief check-in appointment to find out whether any new issues have arisen. While other providers may spend less than 15 minutes with their patient, every single patient at Gladstone gets at least 30 minutes to spend with their provider.
We use this time to understand your challenges, your skills and any factors that could be impacting your progress. This time not only gives us a more holistic understanding of your health, but also enables providers to develop strong relationships with patients. Even if everything is going well in your life, our providers take the time to listen to you and build an open and trusting relationship.
In addition to our emphasis on patient-provider relationships, we also focus on offering a wide variety of treatment options. One way we ensure individuals have access to a wide variety of prescriptions is through the use of generics. At Gladstone, pharmaceutical representatives are not permitted to solicit our providers. As a result, our patients have greater access to generics of name brand prescriptions, meaning they have access to more treatment options and more affordability.
Start Your Mental Health Journey
Through longer appointment times and a strong emphasis on patient-provider relationships, we drive positive mental health outcomes. To start your mental health journey with Gladstone Psychiatry and wellness: