How Hayat Pharmacy is making connections for patients needing mental health care
Independent pharmacies are not standing on the sidelines when it comes to mental health services.
Hayat Pharmacy, a Health Mart Pharmacy based in Milwaukee, is a prime example.
Owner Hashim Zaibak employs three full-time pharmacists and five nurses who administer injectable antipsychotic medications to patients in partnership with a behavioral health clinic at the Muslim Community Health Center in Milwaukee, as well as with a nearby primary care physician.
“There are multiple antipsychotic medications that come in injectable forms,” Zaibak said. “Our pharmacists also go to patients’ homes to give those injections. If a patient is on multiple prescriptions, we’ll send a pharmacist to their home to educate them on how to take their medication. Sometimes patients at home tell you more, such as they’re skipping their medications because of side effects or they’re taking half a tablet.”
Zaibak said that one of the challenges working with patients is the stigma associated with seeking psychiatric help. “We work with a lot of immigrants and minorities who feel that it is a bad thing to see psychiatric doctors,” he said. “We explain the benefits of seeing a psychiatrist and tell them it’s important, that we all might need some help at some point in our life.”
Zaibak recently screened a newly arrived immigrant female patient for depression. “I convinced her to see the psychiatrist in the clinic next door,” he said. “She was prescribed an antidepressant medication.”
Zaibak also was recently confronted by a mother of a 16-year-old boy who said her son showed signs of agitation and was verbally abusive.
“I told her, tell him to come to see me,” Zaibak said. “He came, and I talked to him for about 10 minutes. He said his stomach was bothering him. I suggested we go to the primary care doctor at the clinic next door. He agreed. I went with him and his mother. The doctor prescribed an antidepressant. It will take some time to see some results. I check on him to make sure he’s taking his medication, and will check that he gets refills from his doctor.”
Zaibak advises independent pharmacies that want to follow in his footsteps to start by referring patients to a not-for-profit psychiatric clinic where patients can be seen at no cost or low cost, and to contact doctors in nearby psychiatric clinics to see if they have any challenges with their injectable medication administration.
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He also noted that pharmacists should tell patients that some antidepression medications may take time to take effect, while others may cause insomnia, fatigue or weight gain, as well as what side effects to expect and how to counteract them.
Finally, Zaibak said that a person who has psychiatric issues also may have diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol or asthma. Once they trust you and connect with you, they will become your patient for all of their medications,” he said.